Getting candid with Benny Kuriakose

Known for his rare brand of sustainable architecture, the civil engineer spills the beans on transplanting old buildings, reincarnating old doors and windows, and why vernacular techniques are the country's best-kept secret

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PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT, BENNY KURIAKOSE & ASSOCIATES

Even before he had graduated from high school, Benny Kuriakose had not a shadow of a doubt that he would pursue a career in conservation. Monumental '70s movements like Chipko and Save Silent Valley only cemented his resolve, leading him to take up a degree in civil engineering at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, from where he graduated in 1984. He went on to receive 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, UK, and earned his doctorate at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 2015. He is best known for bringing to life a new brand of sustainable architecture that pays ode to existing buildings and vernacular techniques.

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