caption boards birth_place relatives previous birth_date residence image article_title birth_name occupation alma_mater
sheila sri prakash addressing the world economic forum shilpa foundation nirmana investments shilpa architects bhopal , india bhargav prakash -lrb- daughter -rrb- sri prakash -lrb- son -rrb- , pavitra sri founder and chief architect , shilpa architects p 06 july 1955 chennai , india sheila_sri_prakash_wef . jpg sheila sri prakash
 sheila sri prakash architect urban designer executive anna university school of architecture and planning
sheila sri prakash

sheila sri prakash -lrb- 6 july 1955 , bhopal , india -rrb- is a preeminent architect and urban designer of indian origin .
she founded shilpa architects in chennai , india in 1979 and has the pioneering distinction of being the first woman in india to have started and operated her own architectural firm .
she has designed over 1200 completed architectural projects during her career in the last 35 years .
as a world-renowned pioneer of art , architecture & design and thought leading holistic sustainability or reciprocity expert , she was the first indian architect to serve on the world economic forum 's 2011 global agenda council on design innovation , a 16-member team of international experts in design and innovation , to formulate ways that improve the state of the world .
she served on the world economic forum global agenda council on the role of arts in society , in recognition of her signature works of visionary architecture that feature art , culture and heritage .
she is cited as a starchitect and a celebrated architect for her iconic buildings and the canonical status of the architectural theories surrounding reciprocity in design .
during the 2014 world dance day celebration at the tanjavur brihadeeswarar temple -lrb- unesco world heritage monument -rrb- , which she has been restoring upon commission from the archaeological survey of india , she was the guest of honor at an event presided by padma subrahmanyam and the prince of tanjavur - sri babaji rajah bhonsle chattrapathy and introduced as a `` living legend in contemporary architecture '' .
she has also been described as one of the most versatile designers of the modern era for her repertoire of award winning projects around the world .
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 : `` the year of shelter for the shelterless '' , to pioneering energy efficient commercial buildings , custom bungalows , residential communities , integrated townships , industrial facilities , art museums , sports stadiums , centers of education , public infrastructure and luxury hotels .
she was named to the `` top 100 '' most influential architects in the world by : it : il giornale dell ` architettura. , she was named to the 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 '' .
as india 's foremost award-winning architect on the global stage , sheila sri prakash is acknowledged as an international thought leader and as an innovative architect .
she was regarded as a child prodigy for her talent for the arts from a very young age .
she started learning bharatanatyam when she was four years old and gave her first on-stage arangetram performance when she was six years of age .
she developed in to a critically acclaimed performing artist and had a prolific career in the performing arts between 1961 and 1984 .
her versatile talent for the arts range from bharatanatyam , kuchipudi , veenai , classical indian music , painting and sculpting .
