In the Alliance Française, at Ahmedabad, one can see the same bold sculptural intensions found in Benninger's student work, as well as his strong concern for context. The expression of natural materials not only embodies Benninger's philosophy, but also reflects the materials used in the Theological College of Gujarat where it is situated. As in later works the project develops a strong language of exposed concrete molded into columns, water spouts, window boxes, lintels and skylights, all framed in a bearing wall system of naturally expressed materials. The structural grid of the beams, carried up into the skylights, reflects the system of proportion built on multiples of a 2'-6" rhythm. As seen even in recent works, Benninger employs these low 7'-6" heights in juxtaposition with higher spaces to relate to human proportions, and to create "explosions of space" and spatial inter-relationships. The use of a strict square grid pattern characterizes this structure.
The Alliance Française at Ahmedabad is a classic modernist statement wherein every component has been worked and reworked, until the final design statement appears unalterable and definitive.
