Utkarsha Laharia is an architect and architecture critic known for bringing overlooked histories and underrepresented voices into the center of architectural discourse. Her work spans criticism, original research, and cultural storytelling, with bylines in Architectural Record, The Architect's Newspaper, Dwell, Newsweek, MAS Context, American Theatre, Docomomo US, and the Poetry Foundation, among other national and international publications. Based in Chicago, she has been an active force in shaping the city's design conversation — co-researching and curating 1×1 Chicago: Women in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology's IAWA Center, and the Chicago Women in Architecture 50th Anniversary exhibition at the Chicago Architecture Center. Her original research on a local Chicago architect, recently published in MAS Context, reflects her commitment to recovering and contextualizing stories that have long gone untold. She is currently at work on her first book. Laharia holds a Bachelor of Architecture from India and a Master's in Arts Journalism from Syracuse University. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Docomomo Chicago Chapter and on the Architecture Advisory Committee at the American Institute of Steel Construction, and mentors emerging voices in architectural theory and criticism.
"With both an architecture and writing background, Utkarsha has made her mark in Chicago — designing exhibits, building archives, and conducting her own original research interviewing residents of the Hancock building community on what makes that community so special."
— Cindy Coleman, Senior Fellow, Design Futures Council