Benny Kuriakose

Benny Kuriakose (born 25 May 1962) was born in Kerala, India. He made his mark in architectural conservation and the design of new buildings, taking his roots from the vernacular architecture of South India. He is known for designing structures which are built from natural materials such as timber, stone and brick. He has practiced mostly in Chennai and Kerala. He runs a consultancy firm in Chennai.

Early life and education Kuriakose was born in Koothattukulam and brought up in Thiruvananthapuram. There he attended the Government Model High School before joining the Government Arts College for his Pre-Degree course. He then attended the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, where he took a basic degree in Civil Engineering. In 1986, he received the Charles Wallace India Trust Award for a master's degree in Conservation Studies from the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies at the University of York, in the UK. He completed a doctoral degree at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 2015.

Career In 1984, as a recent graduate of the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, he started practicing architecture after a chance meeting with British-born, Indian architect Laurie Baker. After working with him for nine months, he started his own practice in 1985. During his early career as a self-taught architect, he worked with several organizations such as the Integrated Rural Technology Centre, Palakkad, the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD) and Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra for the development of alternative, low-cost and eco-friendly architecture. From 1985 onwards, he built low-cost houses that mirrored Baker's style, until in 1992 he built the house of actor Mammootty.

In 1994, Kuriakose was commissioned by Malayala Manorama to design housing for the village of Banegaon after the 1993 Latur earthquake. He also designed the layout of public and residential buildings in the village of Chapredi for the Earth Quake Rehabilitation Project, Bhuj District, Gujarat State, 2002.

He has been visiting faculty at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management and other architecture schools.

Kuriakose was awarded the Inside Outside Designer of the Year 2001 for the weekend retreat in Chennai, and in 2011, the Celebration of Architecture Award from Inside Outside magazine. In 2016, he was conferred with the 2016 Estrade Lifetime Achievement Award (the previous recipient of this honor, in 1980, was Architect Karan Grover). He was also listed as one of the top 10 Indian architects who is harnessing traditional wisdom to build homes of the future.

He has written books such as Conserving of Timber Structures in India and Post Tsunami Reconstruction: Manual for Supervisors and Project Staff. He is one of the editors of the book Guidelines for the Preparation of a Heritage Management Plan published by INTACH.

Kuriakose has offered his services as a consultant to UNDP, UNESCO, various State Governments and other organizations. He has also presented many papers on Housing, Conservation and Cost–Effective Building Techniques in various seminars, conferences and workshops in India and abroad.

Architectural Style

Kuriakose seeks to achieve sustainable architecture through vernacular and traditional practices. He believes in the logic behind vernacular architecture being climate responsive, and using locally available materials to create projects that have a simplistic beauty. Sustainability and cost-effectiveness form the most important factors in arriving at the final design.

He tries to explore an architecture that is appropriate to the environment, cost-effective, sustainable and at the same incorporates the principles of vernacular architecture in the modern context. Tradition and heritage is not used as a style, but more as a concept. Kuriakose tries to design for the client in such a way that there is constant dialogue between them, each affecting the other in various ways, leading to and influencing the final design of the building. This leads the design to progress and clarify as it is continually revised in the light of the constant and evolving interpretations of the parameters. This leads to a final design that is unique and caters to the user. He does not want to impose his ideas onto the buildings he designs. He designs each building according to each one's needs. The location is different, the climate is different, the materials are different and the clients are also different. He thinks that style is very superficial. The answers to what makes a sustainable building vary, depending on physical factors such as climate, land availability, local building materials and social and cultural factors. The project's artifacts and monuments are spread out over an area of 150 km2, and Kuriakose's team has located clusters, including 400 buildings of historic importance and architectural interest.

It is an alternate approach to heritage management, and the biggest challenge was to develop a concept which suits the local context. The Muziris Heritage Project has many dimensions. It is an educational project, a developmental project and a model for sustainable tourism. Floated in 2008, it is India's largest conservation project, spread over 25 sites, and links Kerala's histories of Dutch, Arabic, Chinese, Jewish, Greek, Portuguese and Roman roots in the forgotten port of Muziris from 1st Century BC onward. The decision to replace the new chapel in the Kottappuram market with the old was taken by the congregation. The mosque and chapel are just two of the structures that are being transformed as a result of this initiative, coming up in a 150 square km area in central Kerala, in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts.

Awards 1986 Charles Wallace (India) Trust Award 2002 Designer of the Year Award by Inside Outside Magazine 2011 Celebration of Architecture Award by Inside Outside Magazine 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award by Estrade 2017 Scroll of Honour 2017 by Realty Plus 2017 Editor's Choice for Exemplary Body of Work, Trends Excellence Award