In Bhopal, India, on July 6, 1955, Sheila Sri Prakash was born to S. Thangamma and Lt. Col. G.K.S. Pathy, an Indian Army officer. The first woman from India to open her own architecture firm is Sheila. She is an Indian-born architect and urban planner.
Sheila went to Chennai’s Rosary Matriculation School. She had training in the arts, music, and traditional Indian dance. When she was four years old, she began studying Bharatanatyam and performed her first Arangetram on stage.
Sheila displayed skill as a Kuchipudi dancer, a Bharatanatyam performer, and a Veenai player. Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam’s student was Sheila Sri Prakash. Her family relocated to Chennai so she might receive more possibilities in the classical arts and study Bharatanatyam under Sri Dandayudha Pani Pillai. She studied the Veenai, Bharatanatyam, classical Indian music, sculpture, Kuchipudi, and painting. She collaborated with Veenai player Chitti Babu to perform Sivaleela Vilasam and Radha Madhavam on the instrument.
She graduated from Stella Maris College in Chennai with a pre-university degree. She graduated from the Anna University School of Architecture and Planning with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1973. She also participated in the Executive Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Sheila created more than 1200 architectural projects, finishing them all. She is regarded as one of India’s top architects. She is renowned for using regional arts, heritage, and culture as inspiration for many of her architectural projects. Sheila Sri Prakash is currently recognised as one of the most significant female architects in the world.
Her projects span from the affordable Reciprocal House to commercial structures that are energy-efficient, integrated townships, custom bungalows, art museums, sporting arenas, residential communities, industrial facilities, public infrastructure, five-star hotels, and educational institutions.
The Indian Green Building Council’s founding members included Sheila Sri Prakash. The Madras Art House, Cholamandal Artists’ Village, Mahindra Global City, New Chennai, the Paranur railway station, and the Kuchipudi Art Academy in Chennai are just a few places where you may witness some of her architectural creations.
In 1993, she created a house in Chennai using a ground-breaking technique and recyclable materials to collect rainwater. This approach became mandated by the Tamil Nadu State government in 2003.
The HITEX exhibition centre in Hyderabad, Mahindra World City, South City Township by Larsen & Toubro, an office building for HDFC Bank, the Taj 5-star beach resort close to Pondicherry, and a LEED Platinum-rated office building for Cethar Vessels are just a few of the recent projects on which Shilpa Architects has been working.
