Christopher Benninger studied architecture under Jose Lluis Sert at Harvard, the father of urban design, and worked in Sert’s studio, when he returned to Cambridge to teach at Harvard. He studied urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under Lloyd Rodwin, John f. C. Turner, Kevin Lynch and Herbert Gans, leaving an indelible impact on his world view and issues of poverty and inequality. He was a member of the Delos Symposium Group, with his mentors Barbara Ward and Constantinos Doxiadis firming up his interest in South Asia, leading him to a Fulbright Fellowship in India, in the mid-1960’s, materializing in his theory, Models of Habitat Mobility in Transitional Economies. The World Society for Ekistics recently shifted from Athens to his Centre for Development Studies and Activities in Pune.

In 1971 Christopher founded the School of Planning at CEPT University, as a Ford Foundation Consultant, where he remains on the Board of Management. He is the founder of the Centre for Development Studies and Activities in Pune, and has been an advisor to the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the UNCHS (Habitat), the UNO and many national governments. He is on the Board of Editors of CITIES journal (UK), and Ekistics the New Urbanism.

Christopher Benninger is well known for his environmentally sensitive capital plan of Thimphu, Bhutan, and for plans in the Mumbai metropolitan region that demonstrated inclusiveness, by facilitating and empowering the informal sector. His six city plans in Sri Lanka, prepared in the early 1980’s, exhibited a deep respect for nature and tradition, and pioneered contemporary city planning. He authored the Theme Paper for the Seventh Session of the United Nations Commission for Human Settlements, and authored the Asian Development Bank’s “White Paper” for the Board of Governors, introducing the need for socially relevant urban infrastructure investments. In the early 1970’s he pioneered the concept for Site and Services Shelter Systems in Chennai for the World Bank that later became an international model for including users in their own habitat creation.

His notable books include LETTERS TO A YOUNG ARCHITECT and CHRISTOPHER BENNINGER: An

Architecture for Modern India, published by SKIRA of Milan and RIZZOLI in New York.

Christopher Benninger has won more annual, national awards from the Indian Institute of Architects than any other architect, and has won numerous awards for his major projects.

He has focused his recent work on the creation of new universities and institutes including the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru; the Bajaj Institute of Technology at Wardha; The Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata; the Indian Institute of Technology at Hyderabad, The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai; The Global Brain Research Center in Shanghai, China; studios for CEPT University; the College of Engineering, Pune and the Nagaloka Institute for Buddhist Studies in Nagpur. His design of the Royal Capitol Complex in Thimphu, Bhutan is highlighted by his designs for the Supreme Court of Bhutan and the National Ceremonial Plaza there.

Recent urban planning includes the design of a new town in Eastern Bhutan, Denchi; the current planning of Aerotropolis, in the Chandigarh metropolitan area; designing the new metro stations for Siemens and the Tatas in Pune, India and many university campuses plans. Benninger’s expansive campuses reveal an understanding of Asian “place making,” reflecting great temple complexes, Mogul campuses and Ming Dynasty place-temple estates.

Director and Principal Architect of Allen Kong Architect

LFRAIA

Bachelor Architecture with Honours, Melbourne University.

Registered as an Architect in Victoria 1993, NSW 2000, TAS 2008, QLD 2018.

Member Building Appeals Board Victoria

Feng Shui Practitioner 1995.

RAIA Delegate to International Union of Architects Architecture for All work Program region IV

A+ Member of the Australian Institute of Architects, Victorian Chapter. .

Accredited member of the Association of Consultants in Access Australia ACAA

Expert Member of Standards Australia ME64 (Access Standards)

Convenor of RAIA National Access Working Group

Member ( former Chair 11 years ) RAIA Victorian Access Committee

Former RAIA Victoria Chapter Member Services Committee

Director Indigenous Architecture +Design Victoria IADV

Allen acknowledges his Scottish, Chinese and Indigenous forebears. He has only recently become formally aware of the indigenous part of his ancestry and has embraced this by accepting a Director role in the IADV. He is a committed architect with great depth of experience in providing salutogenic environments. He is widely travelled, having been involved in projects in Afghanistan, Antarctica, India, and Iran.

Allen’s interest in architecture is exploring the connection between climate, place and culture. This has resulted in a speciality of design intentional communities in a socially and environmentally sustainable manner. His work with Syed Sibtain Reconstruction Saighanchi, Afghanistan was instrumental in formulating his approach to architecture. Further projects such as research assistant to Professor Jan Gehl on his seminal ‘Interface Study‘, At Melbourne University design for Antarctic bases resulted in publication (with Ross Clark and Paul Wellington) Psycho-environmental evaluation of Australia’s Antarctic Rebuilding Program. The intention of designing for all people and places has led to an in-depth investigation and understanding of design of speciality environments and climates. This has currently emerged in environments to assist those living with dementia and other intellectual and physical disabilities.

The practice, Allen Kong Architect (AKA) was established in 1989 and since then has developed a reputation for well-designed buildings, appropriate to the client’s and user’s needs.

Allen Kong Architect projects have received many awards including from state and local government, Royal Australian Institute of Architects, National Housing Industry Association and Master Builders Australia.

Chartered Architect / Town Planner / Conservator

Dip. Arch. (Abdn); Dip. TP. (Lon); MA Conservation (York)

FIA (SL); FITP (SL); Honorary Member ISCARSAH (ICOMOS); Specialist Member ICTC (ICOMOS)

Mr. Wijeratne is the only Sri Lankan to possess post graduate qualifications in Architecture, Town Planning and Conservation. He has held positions of responsibility both in Sri Lanka and in the United Kingdom. He was a partner of Selvaratnam and Perera from 1981 t0 1986 and then the Managing Director of Environmental Planning Services (Pvt.) Ltd.

He has held many positions of responsibility during his professional career; A founder Trustee of the National Trust, Sri Lanka; Honorary President of ICOMOS Sri Lanka; Honorary Member of ISCARSAH (International Scientific Committee on Conservation of Structures) of ICOMOS; Expert Member of ICTC (International Scientific Committee on Cultural Tourism of ICOMOS): Member of the Advisory Council of the Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development (ITRHD) ; Board Member of the Urban Development Authority; Member of the Planning Committee of the Urban Development Authority (2008 – 2013); Council Member of the Institute of Town Planners (2008 – 2011); Member of the International Panel of Experts that was invited by China through ICOMOS to review the Xian Conservation Centre and Cultural Properties affected by the earthquake in Sichuan Province in 2009; Member of the International Jury to judge the competition winners for the Financial District of the Colombo Port City in 2017; Member of the team to prepare the Socio-Cultural Assessment for the Port City in Colombo in 2018; Project Leader on Spatial Planning Projects for the Urban Development Authority, National Physical Planning Department, Sri Lanka Tourism Authority, the Coast Conservation Department, and the Ports Authority; Member of the Galle Heritage Society; Consultant to Urban Development Authority to prepare Regulations and Guidelines for Conservation and Development of the World Heritage Site of the Dutch Fort in Galle in 2002; Urban Planner in the team that worked on the Development Plan for Urban Development Area of Greater Matara in 2001 and the Post Tsunami Development Plan 2005 for the same area.

In February 2005, Mr. Wijeratne was the UNESCO appointed resource person to conduct a National Workshop in Lahore, Pakistan on ‘Enhanced Awareness of the World Heritage Convention and Support for the World Heritage Conservation Process in Pakistan. He is the Winner of the PATA Gold Award for the UNESCO-Sri Lanka Cultural Triangle Project of Sigiriya (1980 – 1986) and the recipient for funding from Prince Claus Fund in the Netherlands and the American Ambassador’s Fund for Preservation of Cultural Property for the preservation of historic buildings.

He has presented over 50 papers at conferences and workshops on Conservation, Architecture and Town Planning in Sri Lanka, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, Pakistan, Malaysia, India, Cambodia, United States, Japan, South Korea, China, Bulgaria and Mexico.

He has been an external examiner for the Final Part III Examination of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects for over ten years and a Tutor at University of Moratuwa. He has been the Course Director at City School of Architecture in its formative years, a Member of the Board of Architectural Studies, and a visiting tutor in Conservation, Urban Design, Final Year Dissertations and CDP programmes.

‘...Our Cultural Heritage is our identity. It represents our values, belongings, our strength, continuity, and our pride. It is the treasure that we want our children to learn about and to keep for the following generations....’

Syrian Architect, Lama Abboud,committed to saving the cultural heritage of her war-torn motherland

Heritage is a person’s unique, inherited sense of family identity – the values, traditions, culture, and artifacts handed down by previous generations. We absorb a sense of our heritage throughout our lives as we observe and experience the things that make our family unique. They are tangible and visible proof that a society commands the resources, the capacities, and the expertise to produce these objects. This family identity, in turn, moves further collectively to represent the region and beyond, the whole country.

In a multi-racial and multi-religious country such as ours, historically, we have developed a hybrid culture that has come down to us for generations. This culture can be divided into micro-levels as tangible, intangible and natural heritage. However, these are interwoven with each other and more so in this tropical island of ours. Thus, even though the society calls upon the architects primarily provide their services in the continuity of one aspect of the intangible heritage, the other factors such as the natural and the intangible heritage play an important role in the architect’s activities to bring As the theme of this year’s ‘Architect 2021’ has identified, we as architects have moral and social obligations at all levels, such as professional, communal, national, and global – to serve humanity. This is in addition to the professional responsibilities that we carry to our clients. In addition, we have to lead the way in guiding the philosophy, theory, and technology associated with this inheritance from the past, through the present times to the future.

This paper sets out an Architect’s approach to fulfil such social responsibilities whilst still fulfilling the client’s objectives.

How do we as Architects have great power in a profession that is constantly eroded by redefinitions of roles and budgets that are constantly stretched?

It lies in our core task of defining space, use of resources and presentation of the aesthetic vision. Regardless of the other constraints what we produce shapes people’s lives now and far into the future- and are not easily modified.

“It’s not enough to make community space and say, ‘People are going to see each other’” Thorne said. “Architects really have to understand the context from the client - the cultural context, to the bigger context, to the economics, to the future of the residents who’ll live there.”

Guardian January 2016.

Martha Thorne, Executive Director, Pritzker Architecture Prize and Dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design

This task is also our great responsibility to use our skills to serve not only the immediate client but also towards the greater social good. When we set forth at the design it is incumbent upon us to bring the best evidence-based design knowledge to bear on the project. We must have enough knowledge to understand that we should not be seeking just a novel or fashionable solution – but is grounded as a sustainable and culturally sensitive project and as such should have a deep respect for local context.

In Australia that will mean having an understanding and respect for, in our indigenous terms of many tens of thousands of continuous years of knowledge, “Country”. Which embodies the concept of the inextricable interconnections between land /place /and all living things. This may well be true of Sri Lanka.

An Architects moral and social obligations can also be manifested as a project instigator where a need is identified, and our role can be as teacher /researcher / developer and changemaker with a design solution. This is our responsibility.

This presentation will show examples with projects in Afghanistan as well as Australia and Kiribati.

Use of appropriate tools and interventions at the early design stage could make cities and human neighborhoods in tropics more resilient in face of devastating situations, in particular, heat stress. Of the many factors that need to be considered, climate and effects of climate on built environments remain a catalyst – and this is seen as least addressed by architects, despite a responsibility to do so. When the building-climate interplay does not support the maintaining of comfortable indoor environments, extensive use of engineered energy for these operational needs becomes imperative. According to current statistics, this contributes largely towards energy production from non-renewable resources and associated carbon emissions, increase of global warming and thus, heat stress in outdoor environments – creating an unhealthy and vicious cycle.

This crisis demands a “System Thinking”, which refers to a design approach that crosses boundaries of design expertise derived from socio-cultural, historic, and spatial and material concerns to ecological, climatic and environmental concerns.

Energy sustainability in Architecture is considered the ideal for future built-environments, which includes the climate-matching building design practice advocated in the “System Thinking.” It is an appropriate basis for a human-centered future for built-environments across the globe, and Sri Lanka is no exception. The “System Thinking” involves the way Architecture is crafted as an innovative response to social or other spatial needs whilst shielding negative effects of climate or heat stress for user-comfort and energy efficiency.

In order to decipher the complex nature of heat stress in tropics and then to generate climate responsive energy efficient architectures in the complex act of designing built environments, interventions need to be simple, robust, cost effective, timeless and accessible. As a result, the simplest method to achieve positive building-climate interplay, (whilst satisfying social needs through spatial innovations), the approach is i), plan form based, ii), sectional form based, iii), envelope and material based, iv), and finally mechanical system based. Microclimatic enhancement is beneficial for all levels.

The first three interventions are purely architectural design based and are essential components of the thermo-aerodynamic form. Spatial volumes, heights and materials can deal with air pressure differences and aerodynamics, thus dramatically interacting with the climate. This play of forms offers a simplified way of crafting architecture to optimize the building-climate interplay. Results could withstand the effect of heat stress from outside, effectively remove heat built up inside, and thereby avoid indoor overheating, thus regulating the indoor air temperature to be within the comfort zone. Further tuning the thermo-aerodynamic effect of building geometry with night ventilation (tropics have clear diurnal ranges in nearly half of the year now) for heat sink effect of high thermal mass in the envelope could result in further lowering of the indoor air temperature on the following day.

This interplay is complex, but the architect would champion these ideals through appropriate and location specific interventions that ensure reduced demand for energy for cooling during building operations, thus paving the way forward for energy sustainable buildings. Energy sensitive mechanical interventions could positively contribute to this process, (such as efficient lighting, air conditioning and roof mounted PV panels). However, prioritizing them over architectural thermo-aerodynamic form design would only go less than halfway in achieving a building’s total capacity for efficient operational energy use.

This “Systems Thinking” promotes long term energy sustainability in buildings. Solutions can be derived from present complex situations around us. Location factors, climatic analysis and typology and usage characteristics of buildings can inform plan form design, sectional form design and envelope properties for optimum interplay with the climate. In this way, the “Systems Thinking” could be timeless and qualitative in respect of the state-of-the-Art technology that the Architect can bring forward to the design. This is a practice-led opportunity for Architects to fulfill the responsibility towards achieving energy sensitive Design futures.

Contrary to this intellectual position of energy responsive architecture, most non-domestic buildings that do exist in urban environments in Sri Lanka demand excessive levels of energy for operations. This is an issue to be addressed at national level, and more cleverly at the design stage. A comprehensive on-site thermal performance investigation carried out on a large multi-level recently built office building population reveals that indoor air temperature reaches 40 degrees C or above easily during the daytime when mechanical air conditioners are in off mode, even in the absence of occupants and equipment in shut-down mode. This behavior suggests that solar heat stress through building facades makes interiors overheated. Further investigation on air-conditioned mode of office buildings reveals another problem. Indoor air temperature during work hours in multi zones across plan depths and lengths reach up to 10.5 degrees C from the set point temperature (24 degrees C).

This National Research Council (NRC) funded research highlights the severity of solar heat stress on indoor environments and thus, energy sustainability of buildings – an issue to be addressed by the architect at the early design stage. Poor daylight efficiency and over-stressed behaviors of occupants due to overheated indoors are other concerns that need to be addressed.

Available data demonstrates that Sri Lanka’s contemporary urban building sector consumes excessive amounts of energy – national average of energy footprint of our typical office and multi-level apartments is around 250-300 KWh/m2/a – well above the sustainable norm. Some buildings have energy footprints as high as 400 KWh/m2/a. At the same time, the desire to live in luxury urban contexts becomes more and more popular.

This has intensified the craving for energy. This situation is problematic in the context of global warming since it has become more and more apparent that rich lifestyles typically coincides with a poverty in attitudes for global sustainability.

A new definition for Quality of Life is needed. It is important to understand that people with eco-centric attitudes for altruism and biospheric values are more likely to behave coherently for better Quality of life for everyone, including future generations. A building or built environments, in this new definition, with ecologically sustainable features could be considered as future oriented and re-defined as the new “luxurious” compared to buildings that satisfy mere anthropocentric attitudes. Therefore, it creates a great challenge for architects and developers to determine the type of buildings and neighborhoods fit for the next 100 years. As a leading “global Citizen” who makes crucial value judgments, the Architect assumes “Environmental Responsibilities” of planetary scale in dealing with issues of energy sustainability of the built environment.

Sri Lanka has produced some of the most brilliant architecture and architects for 2500 years. Having produced the tallest brick structures in the world to the amazing Lion Fortress, our architecture can match the Pyramids of Giza or Mohenjo-Daro of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. The more recent Bawa residence and landscape can match the traditional architecture of Santorini.

Architecture can address one of the pressing extant and emerging challenges confronting Sri Lanka. The creation of ethnic and religious enclaves ripe for radicalization and recruitment is threatening our unity. All our rebellions emerged in mono-ethnic and religious neighborhoods. Wijeweera from Kottegoda, Prabhakaran from Velvettithurai and Zahran from Kattankudi were raised with no interaction with other communities. Wijeweera was a Sinhalese, Prabhakaran was a Tamil and Zahran was a Muslim. They were not Sri Lankans in spirit. Can the architects rise to this current and future challenge by creating Sri Lankans?

Can we set our mind to building resilience in the Sri Lankan communities by preventing radicalization by design? By distributing our ethnic and religious communities nationwide, we can minimize the demarcation of Sri Lankans along ethnic and religious lines. By building bridges of friendship and goodwill, we can prevent the buildup of communal tension breaking out into violence. To prevent the ongoing ethnic isolation and religious segregation, the physical urban space needs to be better managed. To break the fertile grounds for radicalization and recruitment, we need architects that can consider architecting smart physical spaces of habitation. Let me share two case studies.

In Singapore, its founder Prime Minister Lee developed a policy and implemented programs where every block of apartments house Chinese, Indians, Malays and Eurasians. He said the children of the neighboring Chinese, Indians, Malays and Eurasians would play together. The next generation will be Singaporeans. The structuring of habitats is a game changer in promoting ethnic and religious harmony.

In Samarkand, the historical and archeological evidence show that all communities coexisted. The Islamic mosques, Jewish synagogues, Manichaean temples, Buddhist shrines, Hindu kovils, Zoroastrian houses of fire, and the Nestorian Christian churches were next to each other. The geographic proximity of the houses of worship demonstrated the understanding each congregation had of the other faiths. They all celebrated each other’s festivals. All these faiths emphasized on the commonalities rather than speak of the differences.

We cannot afford another terrorist massacre of the scale of Easter Sunday or a backlash of the scale of July 1983. We need leadership at all levels to address these apex challenges. With the rise of ethnic and religious politics, we should develop innovative approaches to secure our communities. If we school, work, live together, can we still harm and hurt each other? If we are separated by ethnic and religious enclaves and look at each other with suspicion, prejudice and resentment, politicians will divide us by ethnicity and religion. Historically, architects created the structures to live harmoniously. The challenge of the early 21st century architects of Sri Lanka is architecting that One Sri Lanka.

Public safety in high-rise buildings can come in several forms.

Safety of the public as users inside and outside the development.

Safety of the public as “experiencers” of the development in the city at large.

Safety of the public as users

Structural safety

Fire safety (passive and active)

Vertical transportation and safety from falls

Safety of MEP systems

Construction safety

As evident, the user safety in a building comes from a mix of the professional expertise of architects and structural and MEP engineers. It is very well documented in regulations, international codes and standards which keep being updated continuously by varying agencies and organisations around the world. A wealth of research data is also available.

Performance of public safety of a high rise’s public user is easily quantifiable and often evaluated even before breaking ground.

Safety of the public as “experiencers” of the development in the city

Responsibility to the larger bult environment

Effects of the microclimate, urban heat island, wind, sunlight, ventilations etc.

Economics and economic wellbeing of the citizenry.

Social wellbeing and cultural shift

Environmental and behavioural psychology, city and place making A high rise building is often a prominent and celebrated “static citizen” of a city. Its owners, designers, constructors and often governments, regulators and the city itself promote this “celebrity status” of a high rise building.

With this celebrity status and the sheer presence as an imposing static citizen comes with great responsibility. Similar to any other “larger than life” human celebrity in sports, cinema, TV or politics, the public expects an extra level of responsible behavior from a high rise building as an imposing urban citizen.

Naturally this “personality” of a high-rise stems from its designers. The architects that shape it, form it and breathe life to it. This personality immediately sets the tone for the location / the neighborhood / the locality / the city and sometimes even the country. In that sense, a high rise is responsible for the psychological and behavioral wellbeing of perhaps an entire nation. Public Safety at large.

It is this larger, “intangible”, qualitative form of public safety that only the architect must take responsibility for. There are no extensive codes, regulations or mountains of research to help them with this.

Jelly is nice. But custard MUST BE delicious.!!