Benny Kuriakose was born in Kerala, India. He made his mark in architectural conservation and the design of new buildings, taking his roots from the vernacular architecture of South India. He is known for designing structures which are built from natural materials such as timber, stone and brick.
In 1984, as a recent graduate of the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, he started practicing architecture after a chance meeting with British-born, Indian architect Laurie Baker. After working with him for nine months, he started his own practice in 1985. In 1994, Kuriakose was commissioned by Malayala Manorama to design housing for the village of Banegaon after the 1993 Latur earthquake. He also designed the layout of public and residential buildings in the village of Chapredi for the Earth Quake Rehabilitation Project, Bhuj District, Gujarat State, 2002.
Benny was awarded the Inside Outside Designer of the Year 2001 for the weekend retreat in Chennai, and in 2011, the Celebration of Architecture Award from Inside Outside magazine. In 2016, he was conferred with the 2016 Estrade Lifetime Achievement Award (the previous recipient of this honor, in 1980, was Architect Karan Grover). He was also listed as one of the top 10 Indian architects who is harnessing traditional wisdom to build homes of the future.
He has written books such as Conserving of Timber Structures in India and Post Tsunami Reconstruction: Manual for Supervisors and Project Staff.