Featured in the AD100 list of Architects and Designers, Shruti C Reddy draws inspiration for her designs through her everyday experiences of food, art, music, and nature.
About Ceebros Design Works (CDW)
Ceebros Design Works (CDW) is an interdisciplinary design firm based in Chennai. The firm showcases a diverse portfolio ranging from residential to workplace and hotel projects, all primarily located in the city. CDW focuses on merging nature and the built form, creating harmony by blending contemporary influences with historical heritage.
The 36-year-old principal architect and creative director, Shruti C Reddy, graduated from the School of Architecture and Planning in Chennai and later earned a master’s degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. Sruthi provides extensive professional expertise from her work with communities both abroad and in India. Her experience with Rahul Mehrotra Architects was a turning point in her career, inspiring her to join Ceebros Designworks. Reddy was recently included in the AD100 list of Architects and Designers and nominated for the Kohler Bold Design Awards 2022. She is particularly skilled in adaptive reuse, as demonstrated in her family home project in Chennai.
Design Philosophy Grounded in Sustainability
Shruti C. Reddy’s design approach is rooted in sustainability. The integration of nature, preservation of heritage, and celebration of cultural authenticity are key highlights of her work. In addition to the seamless blend of nature and structure, she carefully curates local materials and products to suit her designs. Her projects often feature art deco elements, custom-made furniture, and lighting from local artisans. Reddy’s design inspirations are often drawn from everyday life, with references to the work of Geoffrey Bawa and Sri Lankan architecture, featuring balanced proportions and bold fabrics.
Reddy’s refined taste in antique artefacts is evident in many of her projects, further enriching the design aesthetic.
Notable Projects
A Family Home in Chennai
Shruti C Reddy’s family beach house in Chennai demonstrates her attention to detail. Completed in just 8 months, the renovation project of a 30-year-old structure was a great success, catering to the needs of the entire family. The result is a harmonious blend of old and new. “It was always about not doing something completely afresh but trying to retain some of the elements and weaving it into something new. If you see the space, it’s hard to say what exactly is the new element and what is the old,” Shruti shares.
The house, spanning 87,000 square feet, offers a magnificent view of the surrounding landscape. A pavilion with a swimming pool that provides an exquisite view of the Bay of Bengal is undoubtedly one of the house’s main features, and it is also one of Shruti’s favourites.
A tree-lined driveway along the site’s perimeter leads to an enormous corbeled drop-off court heavily planted with tropical plants. A collonaded gateway leads from the drop-off court to the main house, with landscaping on both sides. The main house includes two bedrooms, a kitchen, living, and dining areas, as well as a sunroom that extends to a family lounge. The property also features a pavilion serving as an entertainment house for guests, with a large living space, open kitchen, bar, and a bedroom overlooking a pool. The house is surrounded by lush greenery, providing both shade and beauty.
The house is adorned with artefacts sourced from local artisans, such as two cow sculptures standing like mascots at the front door. Some furniture pieces, like the Art Deco chairs near the dining table, were antiques from Reddy’s family, while others were carefully selected to complement the overall aesthetic of the home.
Villa in the Sky
Located in Ceebros One74, designed by Architect Rahul Mehrotra, ‘A Villa in the Sky’ by Shruti C. Reddy overlooks the magnificent Bay of Bengal. The two-story house combines Indian tradition and craftsmanship with contemporary concepts. The house features floor-to-ceiling sliding doors that provide an enormous view of the ocean.
As one enters, the house offers an expansive living, dining, and kitchen area, with glazed green ceramic tiles contrasted with dark walnut cabinets, creating a stunning visual statement.
An entertainment den with an outdoor terrace overlooks the magnificent view of the ocean, while a built-in bar with custom brass shutters completes the space. “Materiality and texture is something we explored to a maximum in this project by collaborating with local craftspeople, right from the beginning to the end,” says Reddy.
Mixing up the neutral palate with exotic crafts like repurposed sari silk carpets, resin-inlaid consoles, and a curated collection of old artefacts is a well-known but lovable design concept for the house. The house, with its exquisite choice of wood and hues of blue, truly lives up to its name, ‘Villa in the Sky’.
Ceebros Design Works, founded by visionary architect Shruti C Reddy, exemplifies the harmonic integration of nature, heritage, and contemporary beauty. Reddy’s design philosophy, based on sustainability and cultural authenticity, has produced a portfolio of exceptional projects that captivate the senses and elevate the human experience. As Ceebros Design Works, with its extraordinary vision, continues to push the boundaries of innovative design, it establishes its place as a leading multidisciplinary practice, influencing Chennai’s architectural landscape and beyond.
Citations:
Ceebros design works, C. (2015) Firm: Welcome to Ceebros, FIRM | Welcome To Ceebros. Available at: https://www.ceebrosdesignworks.com/firm/ (Accessed: 07 April 2024).
Shah, S. (2021) How sruthi C reddy turned a modest family home in Chennai into an expansive getaway, Vogue India. Available at: https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/how-sruthi-c-reddy-turned-a-modest-family-home-in-chennai-into-an-expansive-getaway (Accessed: 07 April 2024).
Choraria, N. (2022) Tour this expansive Geoffrey Bawa-inspired family home in Chennai, Design Pataki. Available at: https://www.designpataki.com/tour-this-expansive-geoffrey-bawa-inspired-family-home-in-chennai/ (Accessed: 07 April 2024).
Tolani, T. (2022) Villa in the sky by Ceebros Designworks offers best views of Chennai, ELLE DECOR. Available at: https://elledecor.in/article/chennai-villa-in-the-sky-by-ceebros-designworks/ (Accessed: 07 April 2024).
Shah, S. (2023) Sourcing secrets – the chennai edit with Gowri ADAPPA, Sruthi Reddy and Sunita Yogesh, Design Pataki. Available at: https://www.designpataki.com/dp-cult/sourcing-secrets-the-chennai-edit-with-gowri-adappa-sruthi-reddy-and-sunita-yogesh/ (Accessed: 07 April 2024).
