Academic and research work In 1971, Benninger returned to India as a
Ford Foundation consultant to the
Ahmedabad Education Society to help set up the
School of Planning in 1972 along with
Yoginder Alagh and
B.V. Doshi. Benninger shifted to
Pune in 1976 where he founded the
Center for Development Studies and Activities. In 1983, Benninger wrote the theme paper for the
United Nations Commission on Human Settlements 1984. In 1986, he successfully argued to the
Asian Development Bank the case for extending financial assistance to the urban development sector. Benninger was on the board of editors of
Cities journal, published in the UK. He was on the board of
Ekistics and the associate editor of
Ekistics and the New Habitat. He was on the Board of the United States Education Foundation of India (Fulbright Foundation), Member of the
Bureau of Indian Standards, and on the Board of University Teaching and Research at the
University of Pune, and the Board of Governors of the
School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi.
Early projects One of Benninger's first projects was an
Economically Weaker Section (EWS) township in
Jamnagar developed with the Gujarat Housing Board in 1972. In 1973, he worked with the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and developed a
site-and-services approach to EWS housing in
Arunbakkam. In 1976, Benninger assisted the
Hyderabad Urban Development Authority in its first project, a 2000-unit township for government employees. He designed the
SOS Children's Villages in
Bawana in 1975 and in
Kolkatta three years later in 1978.
Planning As a World Bank consultant, Benninger planned out the site and services, core housing, and slum upgradation programmes for the
Calcutta Metropolitan Development in 1974. In 1979, he was a part of the team to design and programme Indonesia's first National Rural Development Program, in collaboration with the newly established
Urban Development Ministry. Later that year, under Christopher Benninger and Aneeta Benninger, CDSA developed India's pilot Integrated Rural Development Program. In this period, CDSA also prepared social inputs for Area Development Plans in
Goa and
Almora. With
UNICEF, he led a CDSA team to prepare a plan of action for the development of Bhutan (1979–80). In 1986, Benninger worked on the development plan for
Thane and
Kalyan with a focus on
urban management and poverty upliftment. In 2001, Benninger was appointed to prepare the
structure plan for
Thimphu. In 2004, the Government of
Bhutan along with the Government of India appointed him again to prepare plans for three towns along their shared border. In 2012, he designed the new town of
Denchi in East Bhutan. Benninger's work in urban design, city management, and town planning resulted in his
principles of intelligent urbanism. He designed the master plan for
Sasson Hospital,
King Edward Memorial Hospital and
College of Engineering Pune. He was a member of the
Mumbai Port Trust Land Development Committee and the head of the jury for the design and construction India's
National War Memorial, appointed by the
Ministry of Defence.
Architectural works Benninger's designs include the
Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, the
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, the Bajaj Institute of Technology,
Suzlon One Earth Global Headquarters in Pune, the
Mahindra United World College of India, the
Samundra Institute of Maritime Studies, the
YMCA International Camp in Nilshi, India, the
Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies,
Azim Premji University, in
Bengaluru, 23
Metro Stations in Pune, and
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Benninger's work has been noted as one of the first instances of
critical regionalism in India. == Personal life and death ==