Renowned American-Indian architect Christopher Charles Benninger has been conferred with Suryadatta Lifetime Achievement Award-2017  for Excellence in the field of Architecture and Design on February 7, 2017 in Pune. The award is conferred in recognition of his unparalleled contribution to the profession of architecture and planning. Christopher Charles Benninger has been a timeless inspiration for one and all through his architectural wonders as one of the highest-ranking architects in India. He is the first recipient of the Recognition of Excellence in Design (RED) Award (2006) conferred by the Royal Society of Designers and Architecture Plus Design journal of India.

Suryadatta Lifetime Achievement Awards are given to towering personalities from all walks of life, whose significant contributions towards the enrichment of their chosen vocation have made a difference to the society, transforming all those lives that they have touched and leaving their footprints on the sands of time.

Girls Hostel, Coep, Pune, India. Image © Ramprasad Naidu

Christopher Charles Benninger studied urban planning at MIT, and architecture at Harvard University where he later taught. He founded the School of Planning at CEPT University, where he is now a Board Member and Distinguished Professor. In 1976 he founded the Centre for Development Planning and Activities in Pune.

The Tetrahedron New Steel Bridge At the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.Image © Deepak Kaw

A youthful friendship with Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry introduced him to the many planning and design issues of Chandigarh, which was enriched through friendships with S. D. Sharma and the Bahga family, who were the first to publish his works in their famous volume called Modern Architecture in India: Post Independence Perspective, 1993.

Nabha House, New Delhi. Image courtesy of Christopher Charles Benninger Architects Pvt. Ltd.

Professor Kiran Joshi and other colleagues in Chandigarh enriched his understanding of the region. Under the Governorship of Shivraj Patil he was appointed as an advisor to the Chandigarh Administration, through membership on the Capital Redevelopment Committee sought to protect the inherent plan characteristics, while facing large scale immigration pressures and a transformed economic base. 

Image courtesy of Ramprasad Akkisetti/Facebook page

His book, Letters to A Young Architect, was on the Top Ten Best Selling Nonfiction Books in India for six months, and the new book on his work by Skira in Milan and Rizzoli in Manhattan, called Christopher Benninger Architecture for Modern India has projected a new image of Indian architecture into the international narrative of architecture.

Christopher Charles Benninger is a Honorary Member of World Architecture Community and won WA Awards with three projects.

Top image: Dr. Reddy Laboratories, Hyderabad, image courtesy of Christopher Charles Benninger Architects Pvt. Ltd.

> via Suryadatta Group of Institutes