BHUBANESWAR: Former chief architect of Odisha Gokul Das passed away on Thursday. He was 84. As per family sources, Das breathed his last while undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital here for old age related ailments. A native of Bhanjanagar in Ganjam district, he was an alumnus of JJ College of Architecture.
Das had won several national awards including lifetime achievement award for outstanding contribution to the field of architecture by the Indian Institute of Architects.
He was awarded for his best layout design of Indira Gandhi Rural Housing Scheme of India in the All India Low Cost Layout Design Competition 1983. Das had designed the office building of Odisha State Housing Board, which is the first 13-storey building of the state. He was deputed to IDCO as CGM (architecture) to complete the prestigious Odisha Niwas project in New Delhi. It was completed in record time.