Indian architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi has been named the 2018 laureate of the Pritzker Prize, architecture's most illustrious award.

Balkrishna Doshi, one of India's most influential 20th century architects, is the 45th recipient of the Pritzker Prize. He is the first Indian architect to be awarded the prize.

Doshi and his practice Vastu-Shilpa has a portfolio spanning over 70 years, including collaborations with both Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn.

"My works are an extension of my life, philosophy and dreams trying to create treasury of the architectural spirit. I owe this prestigious prize to my guru, Le Corbusier," said Doshi.

"His teachings led me to question identity and compelled me to discover new regionally adopted contemporary expression for a sustainable holistic habitat."

After graduating in Mumbai, Doshi began his architectural career in Europe. He apprenticed at Le Corbusier's Paris office and later went on to oversee the construction of some of his mentor's pivotal projects in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad.

Some of his own key projects include the Ahmedabad School of Architecture (1966), which he both designed and founded; the barrel-vaulted studio he created for his studio Vastu-Shilpa in 1981; and his experimental, cave-like Amdavad ni Gufa (1995) gallery.

In 1989 he designed Aranya Low Cost Housing, a labyrinthine complex of russet homes providing affordable residences for 80,000 people in Indore.

Doshi was awarded the prize by a jury including Richard Rogers, Sejima Kazuyo, Glenn Murcutt and Martha Thorne.

"Balkrishna Doshi has always created an architecture that is serious, never flashy or a follower of trends," reads their citation.

"With a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to contribute to his country and its people through high quality, authentic architecture, he has created projects for public administrations and utilities, educational and cultural institutions, and residences for private clients, among others."

Doshi will receive a grant and bronze medallion at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada on 16 May 2018.

The international award, which is modelled on the Nobel Prize, was set up in 1979 to honour the work of living architects.

Last year the prize was awarded to the then little-known founders of Spanish practice RCR Arquitectes: Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta.

Architects Alejandro Aravena, Frei Otto, Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA and Toyo Ito are among past recipients of the prestigious award.