Founder and Chief Architect
Sheila Sri Prakash is an internationally acclaimed Architect, Urban Designer, and Sustainability Expert, who founded Shilpa Architects Planners Designers in 1979. Builders, Architects and Building Materials (BAM), in association with CII Real Estate & Building Technology Exhibition, has conferred upon her the Lifetime Achievement in the field of Architecture Award 2019 for her outstanding achievements and contribution to sustainable design thinking and the growth of Indian real estate sector.
In July 2016, Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, The World Economic Forum has invited her to be part of the 25-member Global Future Council on the Future of Environment and Natural Resource Security. She formulated the Reciprocal Design Index, in 2013 when she was part of their Global Agenda Council for Design Innovation to establish, document and incentivize sustainable design of cities. She is widely consulted on matters of urban sustainability by several governments and is closely associated with the Chennai Smart City (board of the SPV), as an Independent Director and Urban Expert.
She has been recently awarded the “Bene Merenti” (2017) Medallion by The University of Architecture and Urbanism, Bucharest, Romania (est. in 1952) and the Ministry of National Education and Scientific Research. This award is part of the global acknowledgement she receives for championing the cause of Sustainability in international forums like the World Economic Forum, Global Environment Fund and The UN Habitat III.
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)
She heads Shilpa Architects’ global practice and has been named to:
- Top 10 Most Influential Architects by Construction Global Magazine
- Top 100 Architects in the world by Il Giornale Dell’ Architecture
- Architectural Digest – 50 most influential names in Architecture
- Archute Top 40 Architects of the 21st century
Sheila has a Bachelor Degree in Architecture from the Anna University School of Architecture and Planning and also attended the Executive Education Program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Her portfolio includes several critically acclaimed architectural projects in India and around the world. She is the founding Trustee of The Reciprocity Foundation, created to assist and fund research, seminars, events, projects and conferences to evolve design solutions that would help in creating a responsive eco-system.
She is also a bharathantyam dancer, musician, and a passionate patron of the Arts.
