Designing For Modern India: The Legacy of Christopher Benninger

It is safer to write personal and anecdotal notes, for they cannot be easily criticized with all the subjectivity embedded in them. Writing about Christopher Benninger comes with such subjectivity, not to play safe, but because I have known him personally and share a few of my memories.

Among all the experiences of life, humbling experiences are very important, for they keep us grounded. My early meetings with Christopher were of the humbling kind. At the advisory committee for Council of Architecture’s Excellence for Thesis Awards, we had invited him as a jury member. Having walked around his CDSA campus and seen images of many of his projects, there was a naturally inborn awe towards this white, bulky man with a commanding voice. No wonder, during the drinks and dinner time, I maintained some distance from him, feeling terribly unequal. But the way he volunteered to ask about my background, speak, and possibly develop a liking for me is still unbelievable to me.

My assumption that Benninger was unapproachable had melted, replaced by his humble mannerism which made me even more humble. This mannerism possibly evolved from his nature of acknowledging others, especially those he lists as his Gurus in one of his books. Above all, he names Ramprasad for being a companion, sharer of his journey, conceptualizing a successful studio, and being its managing director. Not everyone expresses gratitude nowadays.

For someone who was born in 1942 and settled in India around 1971, I had met him rather late in his life, possibly around 2010 or so. Yet, within a few years, when he published his ‘Letters to a Young Architect’, I was sent a complimentary copy by courier. One day I asked him why he remembered a small-time architect like me. His exact words are forgotten now, but can be paraphrased as ‘We need young architects like you working with nature and eco-friendly designs’. That proves that people who can recognize the small in others are those with a largeness about themselves.

Christopher was large, both in body and mind.

Very few people know that at the age of 12 he distributed newspapers to a colony of 125 houses to learn how every work is an honor. From there he reached a level of master planning maybe 125 hectares of land, but this journey was not all smooth. Failing in his high school days, the book ‘The Natural House’ by Frank Lloyd Wright gave Christopher a vision in 1956 to become an architect. Skilled in art and painting, he could do well during his academics in Florida, MIT, and Harvard. A 1968 Fulbright scholarship, intended for Bangladesh, changed course by some destiny, bringing him to Ahmedabad, Doshi, and CEPT. As it turned out, Christopher arrived in India at precisely the right moment, when the country was eager for fresh architectural perspectives and ready to embrace innovative urban planning concepts. So by 1972, he shifted jobs, nations, and the direction of his life itself, embarking upon a ‘not so sure’ future against the advice of his American well-wishers.

Christopher was instrumental in starting the School of Planning at CEPT at the young age of 28 at Doshi’s invitation, so it’s no wonder CEPT has honored him with an honorary Doctorate. The next major shift happened when he quit Ahmedabad, settled in Pune, starting his flagship project, Center for Development Studies and Activities, co-founded with Aneeta Gokhale Benninger in 1976. In an interview, he jokingly or seriously says, the inspiration behind CDSA was the thought of ‘Why don’t I be another Doshi’! Of course, we all know that no one can become another, but aspiring to reach a higher level is the first step in realizing our potentials. Christopher did achieve this.

Unlike many famous architects who reveal less about their early works, Christopher took pride in them. SOS Villages, HUDCO sites and services, CDSA, Mahindra United World College, low-cost housing at Hyderabad, and such others walked him on a path of social concerns, being local and Indian. Having interacted with Barbara Ward, one of the earliest proponents of sustainability, this was also the path of ecological concerns. All these early works were regional, natural, and expressed compassion through wisdom. Of course, Christopher is today known more for his later celebrated projects like India House, Suzlon One Earth, Thimphu Ceremonial Plaza, Bhutan Capitol Complex, IIT Hyderabad, Samudra Institute for Maritime Studies, Azim Premji University, Lecture hall at CEPT, Burundi Capital Complex, and such others.

Many star architects have fallen into the trap of mega projects, Christopher not being an exception. His earlier projects continue to exhibit a scale and sensibility, which are difficult to achieve in a large campus like Azim Premji University. Not to belittle this campus, where the challenges are different, hence need appropriate solutions. But his own dictum ‘Buildings should belong to the site’ does not happen easily in big projects. Small projects are important for saving our sensitivity for people, society, and sustainability. No wonder, Baker said “small is not only beautiful, but is often essential”.

Architects love to talk, so did Christopher, but he was not verbose, being crisp and focused. On stage he could be serious, but off stage, there was the friendly man with an occasional humor. One among the memorable seminars I can remember had Christopher speaking just after Hafeez Contractor, both achievers in their own right, with tongue-in-cheek kind of comments and humor.

Possibly, Christopher could laugh at life, being philosophical in his own way. He would often refer to shastras, aagamas, use the term ashram, the deceptiveness of the absolute truth, ideological interpretations, metaphors, and many such other ancient principles, applicable to designs. In one interview he says “India is great because you can find yourself and be what you are… India is my land of being”. It appears like the unavoidable Indian spirituality had touched him also!

Architects claim to be in the creative field, but often find no time for such pursuits. Christopher, however, continued to promote his first love, initiating the India House Art Gallery, promoted dance and music. With a large collection of books, he was a voracious reader and writer. He is leaving behind a large number of texts and manuscripts, which hopefully should get published someday.

By leaving us on Oct. 2, 2024, at the age of 82, Christopher has joined the small galaxy of foreign architects who made India their home, designing in and for India. Be it Otto Koenigsberger, Joseph Stein, Laurie Baker, or Auroville architects, each has a specific contribution worth remembering. How would one essentialize his architecture? It’s not easy, for the range of designs is so vast, if we randomly put together two of his projects, especially the early and later ones, they may not appear like the product of the same brain. Equally comfortable in designing the ground-hugging CDSA and skyscraper Azim Premji University hostel; traditional Bhutan Assembly and college in crowded Pune; the earthy Suzlon and authoritative Burundi Capital Complex – Christopher attempted being rooted to the context, hence diverse.

Reminiscing his association with Christopher, B.V. Doshi says ‘We each brought out the child in the other and catalyzed each other’s creative instincts’. It is fortunate that India housed a childlike Christopher Benninger, an American by birth but an Indian by living