The late Christopher Charles Benninger, regarded as one of the most influential Indian architects in the country's often amorphous canon of modernism, believed that architecture was as much about facilitating social cohesion and a sense of place as it was about attending to functional requirements. Architecture should be born of community, Benninger believed, and a majority of his projects reflect that tenet. “As architects, we bring to the context more than just the utilitarian goals…we seek the poetry in the place, the lyricism in the built-forms and vibrancy in the inhabitants’ lives,” he famously said. With the same conviction, one of the last projects Benninger worked on was a lecture hall complex for IIT Hyderabad, completed in late 2024. The educational building is part of a larger scheme of expansion for the Hyderabad-based institute to meet a growing number of enrolments and the demands of modern education.

For the project, Benninger's studio, CCBA Designs, was commissioned to design housing for faculty and staff, buildings for the departments of physics, mathematics, liberal arts, computer sciences and electronics along with a student commons area. Phase two of the plan, the lecture hall complex, is defined by dramatic curved shear walls that lend the educational design a dynamic geometric form, composed of half-cylinders arranged along a linear circulation path. The building, spanning around 169,600 square feet, incorporates 15 auditoriums with individual capacities of 75 to 800 students, for a total of over 3200 students. As Daraius Choksi, studio director at CCBA notes to STIR, "[The project] was an initiative of the then Director Prof. UB Desai and it was translated into a design by CCBA. It is a [design] where people effortlessly move in and out of a large teaching space and the volumes generated by the walls reflects on the approach to this building as envisioned in the concept – 'cathedrals for learning'." These halls are planned on two levels, connected by the central spine. Viewed from the outside, one is immediately struck by the grandiosity of the curved shear walls, which support the main structure of the educational architecture through ribbed vaults. These vaults create a cavernous interior, which, as one enters, is experienced as a series of breakout spaces, ramps and wide staircases for students to congregate in.

The inclusion of ramps as one of the primary modes of circulation for the building gives it a distinct rhythm, allowing more spaces for breaking out by extending the unfettered footprint of the structure. The design scheme is meant to encourage an atmosphere of collaboration and exchange, facilitated by a hierarchical progression from the main lecture hall and meeting areas to classrooms and labs, with individual discussion spaces further appending this function. The interiors of the complex are defined by concrete itself, the primary material used for its construction. Exposed concrete, kota stone and a bright red railing make up the minimal aesthetics of the complex's public spaces. The ribbed vaults, robust columns and undulating openings add a sculptural quality to the spaces, not entirely different—in essence more than direct reverence—from another stalwart, BV Doshi's IIM Bangalore campus. What is then most enduring about the design is how the form of the building responds to and takes into account the activities of students outside the class, apart from the logistical requirements of the campus.

Designed to be “a vibrant cultural hub that encourages interaction, engagement and intellectual exchange,” as detailed in the official release, the central corridor that connects all the spaces is designed to amply accommodate students, letting in natural light through skylights and strategically placed openings to create a calming environment. These fenestrations and skylights create a dynamic interplay of shadow and light across the exposed concrete shell, transforming the space throughout the day. The larger halls, with their capacity to host events ranging from conferences to cultural programs, demonstrate the building's adaptability. Adhering to sustainable architecture parameters, the complex incorporates energy-efficient lighting, a rainwater harvesting system and shading devices as a passive cooling method.

For nearly two decades, Pune-based CCBA Designs, now spearheaded by Ramprasad Akkisetti, has been one of the studios at the forefront of designing India’s university campuses and other institutional and education architecture. Reflecting context, people and a commitment to sustainability, these designs were emblematic of a sympathetic approach to educational infrastructure, grounded in the places they were built in. The lecture hall complex at IIT-H heeds this ideology, with an architecture that emphasises openness and accessibility, particularly for the student community it houses.

Project Details

Location: Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Client: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad, Kandi
Principal Architect: Prof. Christopher Benninger
Design Team: Sundar Bommaji (project architect); Daraius Choksi, Rahul Sathe, Deepak Kaw, Shivaji Karekar, Gaurav Inamdar, Robin Benny, Yash Bagad & Bhargav Khurjekar
Collaborators:
Landscape Design: CCBA Designs
Interior Design: CCBA Designs
Prime Contractor: Shapoorji Pallonji & Co Limited
Structural Design: J+W Consultants, Pune
Construction Management: Tata Consulting Engineers
Acoustical Consultants: Sonics, Bengaluru
MEP: MAPLE
Project Management: TCE
Green Building Consultant: Godrej
Built Up Area: 15,763 sq. m.
Site Area: 12,050 sq. m.
Year of Completion: 2024