Bhavan’s Chennai Kendra was the second Kendra to be set up after the Delhi Kendra. The Chennai Kendra was established in 1958, with the blessings of Paramacharya, His Holiness Shri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Swamigal of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. The Kendra had its first Executive Committee meeting in the Syndicate Room of the Madras University under the Chairmanship of the distinguished educationalist Dr A. Lakshmana Swamy Mudaliar. The present premises of East Mada Street, Mylapore was inaugurated by the President of India Shri V.V. Giri on September 2, 1972. Since then the Kendra has been marching ahead with glorious contribution towards cultural activities and rich Indian heritage

The Kendra celebrated Golden Jubilee in the year 2009. True to the ideals of the Bhavan, The Chennai Kendra is promoting and propagating the Cultural Arts, Performing Arts, Literary Arts and rich Indian heritage. The Kendra serves as an excellent platform for celebrated artiste and talent promotion for aspiring artiste. The Kendra has a Training Centre FACET (Fine Arts Cultural Education and Training Centre) which conduct courses for a variety of Cultural, Arts, Languages and Wellness discipline.

The Kendra Complex has designated Class rooms for the FACET wing which trains Part-time students for various courses and disciplines. The classrooms maintain the perfect balance between learning and practice, where both the teachers and the students can engage in refreshing activities together. There are three Air-conditioned auditoriums 1. Bhavan’s Pottipati Gnanamba Obul Reddy Auditorium - (Main Auditorium - Ground Floor) 2. Bhavan’s Sri Viswanath Trivedi Sabhagriha (Mini Auditorium - First Floor) 3. Bhavan’s P.A.C. Ramasamy Raja Hall (Mini Auditorium - Second Floor).

Bhavan’s Gandhi Institute of Computer Education & Information Technology is housed in the Complex. The Institute offer free computer education to Young Students and Senior Citizens. Accounts Assistant Course, DTP Course and Senior Citizen courses are currently offered

The Kendra has aesthetically and thoughtfully designed its Boardroom, it facilitates efficient meetings, deliberations, fostering productive discussions, and steering Institution towards success. For the Guests, Kendra has a spacious Pantry area which fulfils the need for serving food for groups attending the programs in the auditoriums.