Sheila Sri Prakash talks about how design philosophies and considerations, the two most important pillars central to an architect’s choice, can bring about social transformation, reflecting the aspirations of a people.
An architect and urban designer, Sheila holds the distinction of being the first woman in India to have started and operated her own architectural firm. She founded Shilpa Architects in Chennai in 1979, and has designed over 1000 completed architectural projects in her career spanning close to four decades. Acknowledged as one of the leading design thinkers across the globe, she served on the World Economic Forum’s 2011 Global Agenda Council on Design Innovation, a team of international experts in Design and Innovation, to formulate the Reciprocal Design Index - a sustainability matrix linking the parameters and metrics of sustainable design in terms of environmental, sociologic, and economic impact. She currently serves on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Role of Arts in Society, in recognition of her signature works that feature art, culture and heritage. She is credited with being the founding practitioner-researcher who defined and identified the field of ‘Spaciology’, a discipline that recognizes the impact of space design and planning on society, and for leading the Infrastructure Sustainability efforts for the 2012 London Olympics.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations) An architect and urban designer, Sheila holds the distinction of being the first woman in India to have started and operated her own architectural firm. She founded Shilpa Architects in Chennai in 1979, and has designed over 1000 completed architectural projects in her career spanning close to four decades. Acknowledged as one of the leading design thinkers across the globe, she served on the World Economic Forum’s 2011 Global Agenda Council on Design Innovation, a team of international experts in Design and Innovation, to formulate the Reciprocal Design Index - a sustainability matrix linking the parameters and metrics of sustainable design in terms of environmental, sociologic, and economic impact. She currently serves on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Role of Arts in Society, in recognition of her signature works that feature art, culture and heritage. She is credited with being the founding practitioner-researcher who defined and identified the field of ‘Spaciology’, a discipline that recognizes the impact of space design and planning on society, and for leading the Infrastructure Sustainability efforts for the 2012 London Olympics. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx