Shilpa Architects is an international

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, design and planning firm that was founded in 1979 in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Sheila Sri Prakash Sheila Sri Prakash (born 6 July 1955) is an architect and urban designer of Indian origin. She is the founder of Shilpa Architects and is the first woman in India to have started and operated her own architectural practice. Biography Early li ...

. The firm was established as a proprietary firm and is the first architecture firm that was founded independently by a woman in

. It currently operates offices in Chennai,

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

and

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, in

and in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and provides urban design and master planning services. The firm's designs can be seen at

Cholamandal Artists' Village Cholamandal Artists' Village is an artists' commune in Chennai, India. Established in 1966, it is the largest artists' commune in India. The community is located in the southern coastal neighborhood of Injambakkam. Its artists are credited for t ...

, Mahindra World City, New Chennai, Paranur on

GST Road Grand Southern Trunk Road (or) National Highways 45 is an arterial road in Tamil Nadu. It is also known as Chennai–Trichy Highway. The Road starts from Kathipara Junction in St Thomas Mount, Chennai towards Tiruchirappalli. It branches out from A ...

and it is known for its work inspired by sustainable vernacular architectural practices as well as a sensitivity for society and the built-natural environment. Sheila Sri Prakash delivering keynote address at 2013 Milan Design Summit

Sheila Sri Prakash delivering keynote address at 2013 Milan Design Summit

currently serves on the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

's Global Agenda Council on Design Innovation, as one of 16 leading experts from around the world that have been called upon to devise plans to improve the state of the world. She received her architectural degree from the

Anna University School of Architecture and Planning School of Architecture and Planning (SAP) is one of the four constituent colleges of Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (India). It was established as a Department of Architecture of the University of Madras in 1957 and was located in the Alag ...

in Chennai and completed an Executive Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She was also an International Fellow of Architecture at Ball State University in Muncie Indiana for her scholarly work on Indian Art, Architecture and Vaastu : The Indian Art of placement or

Vastu Shastra ''Vastu shastra'' ( hi, वास्तु शास्त्र, ' – literally "science of architecture") is a traditional Indian system of architecture based on ancient texts that describe principles of design, layout, measurements, groun ...

. Since its inception, the company has grown to over 80 professionals and has operations across India and in the USA. The firm's designers have been invited to speak at several national and international forums such as the Confederation of Indian Industry. Shilpa Architects was instrumental in the institution of the Indian Green Building Council and continues to remain a member of that organization. The firm is known for designing planning and architectural solutions that cater to the millions of underprivileged by delivering shelter through low-cost, durable, mass-construction techniques. In 1987 - the year of "Shelter for the shelterless" by the Shelter programme in Tamil Nadu state, the firm was invited by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, Madras Metropolitan Development Authority and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

to prototype a model that has since been adopted successfully in a large-scale format across

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

and

. Sheila Sri Prakash holds patents for innovative designs in structural and architectural elements for low cost yet improved quality of construction. In 2003, Designshare awarded Shilpa Architects a Recognized Value Award for its innovative design for educational infrastructure. In 2008, the firm received the IAD Award.

Projects

Shilpa Architects has recently been called upon to restore some of India's archaeological treasures as one of the country's select few experts in architecture, design, restoration and preservation by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Expansion

The firm has diversified with subsidiaries in the investment & asset management space - through Nirmana Investments Pvt Ltd which was founded by Bhargav Sri Prakash - and in turn-key interior fit out solutions - through Stone Lotus - and delivers architectural designs internationally through an overseas subsidiary. Pavithra Sri Prakash has recently been inducted into the Board of the company and is an Architect and Urban Designer by profession. She received her undergraduate degree in Architecture from the

in Chennai and completed her graduate degree in Architecture and Urban Design from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York. The company recently inducted Amrit Sahasranamam as the Chief Financial Officer. Amrit Sahasranamam has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

Reciprocity Wave

The Reciprocity Wave, a program conceived by Sheila Sri Prakash, is a sculpture competition where students create art work with recycled materials to highlight social and environmental issues. Shilpa Architects have conducted three such initiatives, two in Chennai, and one in Bangalore. and one in Cubbon Park, Bangalore.Event Images, Reciprocity Wave at Cubbon Park, Bangalore
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References

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External links

Shilpa Architects
Architecture firms of India Companies based in Chennai Design companies established in 1979 1979 establishments in Tamil Nadu

Projects

Expansion

Reciprocity Wave

See also

References

External links