Mluru Couple Oscar-Ponni M Concessao Named Architects to Design Telangana Secretariat

Mangaluru Couple Oscar-Ponni M Concessao Named Architects to Design Telangana Secretariat named as Dr B R Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat. Oscar is an Alumnus of St Aloysius Institutions, Mangaluru having done his schooling and completed college in 1981.

Mangaluru: Oscar and Ponni M Concessao, originally of Valencia, Mangaluru have been appointed as the architects to design the new secretariat complex that will come up at Hyderabad in Telangana state. Chennai-based husband and wife team Oscar and Ponni M Concessao are reputed architects whose careers have spanned decades of work devoted to engineering and architecture and won more than 164 international, national and state awards. Their contributions include creating award-winning designs, authoring and publishing technical papers on architecture, urban design, architectural education, conservation, and women’s rights.

Oscar G Concessao was born in the coastal town of Mangaluru and did his schooling and PU at the famous St. Aloysius Institutions, Mangaluru. Born in Valencia, Mangaluru, son of the Late Richard Concessao and Celine Concessao, now retired School teacher from St Aloysius School, Mangaluru. After finishing his pre-university degree from St. Aloysius College he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture at the prestigious National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli, University of Madras, in June 1986. and graduated with a Master’s in Architecture, Urban Design, magna cum laude, in 1987 from the University of Oklahoma, USA.

OSCAR and Ms PONNI M CONCESSAO

While at the University he won the William Van Allen International Design Competition to design a University in Africa, a first for an Indian at the young age of 23. He worked with architectural firms Emery Roth & Sons in New York and Silver & Ziskind, New York, USA on large-scale projects such as high-rise buildings, hospitals, institutional projects and campuses.

Born into a family of professionals, Architect Ponni M Concessao graduated from the illustrious Church Park Convent, Chennai. A pioneer in women’s technical education, Ponni Concessao was the first women undergraduate student of the prestigious National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli, University of Madras, graduating in June 1987. She completed her post-graduate studies at Cornell University USA in 1989 with the JND Tata Endowment Scholarship and Scholarship from Cornell University. She also won the College of Human Ecology Grant for Thesis Research at Cornell for her pioneering work on conservation. She worked with Edward Larabbee Barnes Architect, New York City, USA, and with the National Trust of Historic Preservation, Washington DC, USA.

Both Oscar and Ponni did their advanced professional studies at Harvard University, USA, and have been conferred with Honorary Doctorates from the University of Malaysia and the University of Milano for Modern Architecture and Architectural Science. They returned to India and settled in Chennai, and started their architectural practice in 1996, designing versatile projects such as universities, engineering and medical colleges, stadiums at Doha, Qatar, Malaysia several Information technology Parks, bio-tech parks, nanotechnology parks, townships, hospitals, apartments, hotels, resorts, malls, corporate offices, luxury bungalows, factories, SEZ, several Government and State buildings with completed projects footprints in over 100 locations all over India and Malaysia.

Oscar & Ponni Architects have won more than 164 International, National and State Awards for architecture & interiors. To highlight a few, in 2004, Oscar & Ponni Architects won an award for ‘Excellence in Built Environment, awarded by His Excellency, the former president of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam for the Satyam Technology Information Technology Park at Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

In 2005, they won the ‘Architect of the Year Award’, 2004, the Indian Institute of Architects Tamil Nadu Chapter from then Shri. Rangasamy Chief Minister of Puducherry. In 2008, they won the prestigious Indian Institute of Architects, IIA National Award 2008 for the Sastra Biotech Park for Sastra University at Tanjore. Oscar & Ponni Architects have won the Indian Buildings Congress Award 20 times for their information technology parks, campuses and townships which are unprecedented in India.

In 2014, Oscar & Ponni Concessao, both won the Distinguished Alumni Award for the golden jubilee celebrations of the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli from the former president of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. Architect Ponni M Concessao won the Indian Buildings Congress Satya Goel Memorial National Award for the “Eminent Women Building Professional from India”, in 2014 and won the Icon of Asia Women Awards in Singapore amongst 11 Asian Nations.

In 2020 Oscar & Ponni won 4 National Awards from the Indian Buildings Congress for Architecture and built environment, and architect Ponni won 8 International and National Women’s Achiever Awards for Architecture. In July 2020, the chief minister of Telangana K C Rao awarded the Telangana State New Secretariat Building project through a National Design Competition. Architect Ponni has recently completed the Dr Karunanidhi Museum & Convention Centre at Tiruvarur near Thanjavur and is also completing the design of the Gaganyaan Space Centre facility at Sriharikota for ISRO.

Oscar & Ponni architects have recently won four Estrade awards in Singapore in January 2021 for their architecture & interior projects in Malaysia and Havelock Islands. To Architect Ponni Concessao and Oscar Concessao, an architect’s role is nation building and one must have a strong sense of contributing to society at all levels especially the poor. Their work includes the school for children of leprosy victims in Tamil Nadu for the Rising Star Outreach, an NGO.

Both the architects Ponni and Oscar have been involved in Social Service projects for the past 30 years in National and International organisation in the field of women’s empowerment, leprosy eradication, built noon meal centres and toilets for underprivileged girl students, tsunami housing, and raised funds by organising her paintings exhibitions at ART Houz Chennai, and raised funds for Rotary, Round Table and Ladies Circle India and Rising star outreach of India by conducting Ponni’s Painting exhibitions and the proceeds for these causes, especially leprosy eradication.

She has been a keynote speaker for the past 30 years at international and national conferences and has been on Governing Councils in universities, has been an academic advisor and has been involved in architectural education in India. Both architects Ponni and Oscar are involved in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana project and also built noon meal centres, tsunami Housing, toilets for underprivileged girl students as well as schools for leprosy-afflicted patients children.

One must be an educational engine to all who seek their services, as architects are agents of change and a mirror of social conscience.

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