Christopher Charles Benninger, Pune based architect, has been bestowed the nation's highest architectural honour, The Great Master's Award. Benninger started his career teaching at Harvard where his gurus, the famous architects Jose Luis Sert and Walter Gropius taught. Only five other living architects in India have received this award, including Pune-born architect Balkrishna Doshi and Charles Correa. The award is given every three years to architects who have contributed uniquely to the profession of architecture. Educated at Harvard and MIT, Benninger founded the School of Urban Planning at Ahmedabad, the Centre for Development Studies and Activities in Pune. His well known designs include the Mahindra United World College of India, the Centre for Development Studies and Activities, and more recently, the Samudra Institute of Maritime Studies. Asked about the honor, Benninger said, "I am humbled to be placed amongst the pantheon of my true gurus. This was totally unexpected."
