2. BACKGROUND
Sheila Sri Prakash (6 July 1955, Bhopal, India) is an
architect and urban designer of Indian origin.She is the
founder of Shilpa Architects and is the first
woman entrepreneur in India to have started and operated
her own architectural practice.
Sheila Sri Prakash is a pioneering first woman Architect and
Designer in India, who, in 1979, founded her own
Architectural Design firm 'Shilpa Architects,' in Chennai
which has now emerged as a forerunner in environmental-
friendly design and sociologically sensitive planning.
3. EDUCATION
She enrolled in the Bachelors in Architecture from
the Anna University School of Architecture and
Planning , Anna University, in 1973, at a time when
there was a strong bias against women entering the
field.
Graduated in 1977, and also having attended the 12
weeks executive education program at Harvard
University's Graduate School of Design, Ar. Sheila had
faced several obstacles to establish herself in a male-
dominated profession.
She attended the Rosary Matriculation School in
Chennai and attained a pre-university degree
from Stella Maris College, Chennai.
4. EARLY LIFE AND ARTISTIC
CAREER
Sheila Sri Prakash was born in Bhopal, India on 6 July
1955 to Lt. Col. G.K.S. Pathy, an officer in the Indian Army
and S. Thangamma.As a child, she trained in classical
Indian dance, music and the arts. She started
learning Bharatanatyam when she was four years old. She
practised Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Veenai,
Classical Indian music, painting and sculpting.
she has the distinction of playing, composing and recording
Radha Madhavam and Sivaleela Vilasam with the world-
renowned Veenai musician – Chitti Babu.
5. ARCHITECTURE
designed and completed over 1200 architectural
projects,[22] many of which are known for use of local arts,
culture and heritage as inspiration for her designs.She is
known for architectural theories surrounding Reciprocity
in Design.[25] Her work ranges from the low-cost Reciprocal
House for the socio-economically underprivileged that she
designed on invitation from the World Bank in 1987,[ to
the first of its kind energy efficient commercial buildings,
custom bungalows, residential communities, integrated
townships, industrial facilities, art museums, sports
stadiums, centers of education, public infrastructure and
luxury hotels. Her research findings are particularly
relevant in high-density rapidly developing economies
6. She is one of a 16-member team of international experts on the
World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Design and
Innovation and serves on the Role of Arts in Society, in recognition
of her signature works of Visionary architecture that features art,
culture and heritage. Besides, she was named among the Top 100
most influential architects in the world by Il Giornale dell'
Architectura, an Italian Journal of Architecture. Her
recommendations to the United Nations 2012 Rio+20 Summit in
Brazil, have been adopted in the mandate for Sustainability
presented to heads of nations. The sustainability matrix titled
"Reciprocal Design Index" prescribes parameters and metrics
surrounding sustainable design to factor the environment, sociology
and economics. Based on her research, she has spearheaded the
"Reciprocity Wave" movement, which uses art to create awareness
about social and ecological issues that need immediate attention.
7. In 2009, Shilpa acquired SGBL Studio (Sri Prakash,
Gullo, Brossa & Leenknegt), which is an Architecture and
Urban Design firm. With offices in Chicago, New York
and Seoul, this company has executed projects globally
including the US, Belgium, Norway, China, Japan,
Kuwait etc. Shilpa also executes high-end turnkey design-
build solutions through a division called Stone Lotus.
Being focused on green and sustainable architecture, the
firm has been a steering member of the Indian Green
Building Council (IGBC). With its own LEED Certified
professional in house, Shilpa is in the advantageous
position of designing and simultaneously facilitating the
process for LEED Certification.
SHILPA ARCHITECTS
8. SHILPA ARCHITECTS
Sheila's award-winning international Architectural Design
firm, Shilpa Architects Planners is acclaimed for pioneering
work in environmentally and socioeconomically sustainable
design. The firm's portfolio spans the entire range of the
real estate industry which includes residential buildings,
custom designed villas, mixed use townships; infrastructure
facilities; leisure, health and hospitality projects; industrial
assignments; retail, commercial and IT related buildings;
educational campuses, stadiums and sports facilities
amongst others. The firm worked with—and is working
for—Developers, Foreign Direct Investment funds, Multi-
Nationational Corporations, leading Indian Business
Houses, Government, Private and Public sector companies,
Co-operative societies and NGOs and has received several
recognition for its design.
9. Shilpa Architects, Planners and Designers have been working recently
on several projects, including a LEED Platinum rated office building as
their own design headquarters. Other projects include the HITEX
exhibition center in Hyderabad[62] and the South City Township
by Larsen & Toubro that is an approximately 4000 apartment
residential township. Another large scale housing project is
within Mahindra World City, the upcoming Taj 5-star beach resort
near Pondicherry,[63] the state of Tamil Nadu's first platinum rated
office complex for Cethar Vessels, an office building for HDFC Bank, as
well as the regional headquarters for the State Bank of India. Her
portfolio of current projects includes Industrial architecture. She
designed a large scale manufacturing facility and warehouse for de:OBO
Bettermann in India[64] and is currently designing a factory for the
industry leading technology hardware manufacturer Flextronics.
RECENT PROJECTS
10. PHILOSOPHY
"I take my role as an architect seriously because
my thoughts and actions are bound to have a
lasting impact on people, society and the planet.
What I'm striving to achieve is holistic
sustainability through design. Space can make
or mar the quality of life. My sensitivity to space
comes from dance. In dance, a notional space
and characters are created. In architecture, one
creates the ambience and elements that give
expression to the residents' dreams. Dance has
influenced my thinking as an architect."Ar.
Sheila Sri Prakash
11. PHILOSOPHY
“It’s our effort to encourage young people to embrace a
sustainable behaviour through the medium of art, design and
sculpture. They created art works and sculptures from trash
cans, bottles and dry leaves. The exercise was such an eye-
opener to the visitors at the park. More such events are being
planned.”
“As a dancer, I was trained to imagine spaces in my mind. The
rhythm and repetition of movements helps me conjure up
proportions within a space. Dance helps me visualise a space
before it takes tangible form.”
12. AWARDS
• Bene Merenti Award from the University of Ion
Mincu in 2017
• Honourable Architect Award from the Indian
Institute of Architects (October 2015)
• Top 100 most influential architects in the world
by it:Il Giornale dell'Architettura
• One of 50 most influential names
in Architecture and Design in 2015
by Architectural Digest and listed among a
category of "Reinventors" for having "built a
formidable legacy" and an "inspirational practice
that designs societies and not merely buildings or
cities".
13. She has been the keynote speaker at several prestigious
venues around the world, such as:
• World Economic Forum (in Switzerland, Dubai, UAE &
China)
• UN Habitat III Conference in Oct 2016 (Quito, Equador)
• 2012 Infrastructure Summit as part of the London Olympics
(UK)
• Milan Design Summit (Italy)
• Bloomberg’s Brainstorm Green (Singapore)
• Kuala Lumpur Design Summit (Malaysia)
• USGBC Annual Conference (USA)
• AIA Japan in Tokyo
• SHARE Bucharest 2017 International Architecture Forum
(Bucharest)
• Business World Summit on Internet of Things and Smart
Cities (New Delhi)
• Design 361 conference (Mumbai)
14. SILVER FALLS
RESORT
• Located in the pristine hill station of
Kodaikannal, this 4.9 acre site is located adjacent
to the Silver Cascade Falls and a nearby forest.
The Site lends to creation of interactive programs
and has multiple ways of access at different
levels. The planning has been driven by the
challenging contours of the site.
• The resort caters to mid and premium segment
customers. The main entry to There are around
40 to 50 cottages under three categories;
Cottages, Suites and Premium Rooms.
15. • The architectural language is inspired by English
cottages with exposed random rubble masonry and
sloped roofs. The idea was to let these buildings blend
into the surrounding landscape.
• There are two restaurant blocks restaurants:-one
exclusive fine dining restaurant for resort guests, and
another quick service restaurant and coffee shop for
travellers visiting Silver Falls. The coffee shop
follows a similar architectural approach as the
cottages. It takes a spatial journey along the natural
winding path with circular domes and punctures to
let light in, much like Hobbit houses.
• Apart from these facilities, provision has been made
for biking and hiking trails, play areas for adults and
children, a conference block, a garden, a convenience
store and other indoor and outdoor recreational
activities.
16. PARANPUR RAILWAY STATION
• Paranur railway station, located in Chengalpettu serves
the neighbourhood of Paranur and the Mahindra World
City at New Chennai. The station helps about 20,000
people commute between Chennai Beach and Paranur.
CLIENT
Mahindra
World City
Developers
17. • The station is noted as the first of its kind public–private partnership
(PPP) projects in the country. The Indian Railways entered into an
agreement with Mahindra World City Developers (MWCD) for the
redesign, renovation (completed in 2007) and maintenance of the station.
• The redesign included renovating two platforms to cater to the transit
oriented development of the Mahindra World City, and the provision of an
additional platform in the station for future use. The existing foot over-
bridge was retained, repaired and refurbished while new facilities for the
public were created. These included the ticketing office, rest rooms and
station staff rooms. A new structure was built for this purpose which
addressed the differential levels between Manhidra World City and the
existing platforms, while providing additional circulation space and an
arrival experience for the commuters.
• The platforms were re-floored with natural stone and tiles were laid in
patterns demarcating safety edges for commuter protection. Roofing sheets
were replaced with minimal changes to the existing structural elements.
Platform furniture including seating, drinking water fountains and bins
were designed to ensure being pilfer proof and contemporary. Landscaping
and water run offs were detailed.
19. THE DESIGN APPROACH
• THE SPACES AIM TO EMPHASIZE THE
CONNECTION THAT INDIAN CIVILIZATIONS
EFFORTLESSLY MADE BETWEEN EARTH,
SKY AND NATURE AND TRIGGER
INTROSPECTION, INSPIRATION AND
COLLABORATION.
20. SUSTAINABILITY & ON-SITE RENEWABLE
ENERGY STRATEGY
• The Solar Panel Roof is the one that is oriented with maximum
exposure to the SW portion of the site. The solar studies have shown
that this roof needs to be high and shadow free – this has influenced
the heights and curvature of this roof form.
• With the capacity to generate about 100kVA of electricity on site per
day, this supply is expected to fulfill 15-20% of the total demand for
the building.
COMMUNITY AND FLEXIBLE SPACES
Open Theater seamlessly flows into the rolling meadows which leads
up to the studio. This flexible outdoor space is a collaborative space for
experimentation and can be used formally as well.
21. 1. The grand step and ramp feature is the main entrance to the
building. An interactive space with the exploded plane Tadasana
forms the arrival experience to the science gallery.
2. The entry plaza can accommodate a huge group prior to an event
and informal pre-function space. The steps can also be used for
outdoor exhibits which require high visibility from the highway.
23. RESIDENTIAL
• nova by mahindra lifespaces
• navin’s springfield
• oasis apartments,ghana
• iris court at mahindra world city
CIVIC
• paranpur railway station
• International residential school for boys
• art and science gallery
PROJECTS
24. COMMERCIAL
• flex chennai industrial park
• state bank of india,local head office,chennai
• KGI garment factory