Julia Barksdale
Architect
Utile Design Inc.
Julia Elizabeth Barksdale, AIA, ISAPD (she/they) is a Boston-based architect currently working at Utile Design Inc. She was born and raised downstream in Connecticut, moving up north to attend Northeastern University, acquiring her Bachelor’s of Science in Architecture in 2021, and her Master’s of Architecture in 2022. Her master’s thesis focused on the conceptual rethinking of Boston housing typologies in neighborhoods immediately susceptible to sea level rise, altering the traditional interior layouts to accommodate co-housing communities, and the construction materials and systems to allow for natural decomposition when the area is no longer environmentally viable to occupy. During her time in school, Julia also co-led the design and build of an outdoor play structure for a women and children’s housing shelter in Dorchester, and served as the Chair of the Mental Health Task Force for the National American Institute of Architecture Students.
Julia is a proud descendant of the Choctaw and Cherokee people, as well as Irish and English immigrants that came to this country through Ellis Island and Jamestown, VA, respectively. Her historically charged background has been a huge influence on her life and her work as a designer. Navigating the implications of stolen land, ethnic cleansing and cultural erasure, with ancestors on both sides of the story, feels akin to her journey as an Architect. How does one dedicate their life to the design of buildings that may further occupy spaces belonging to Native peoples, but doing so for the benefit of ancestors of all kinds of people that were historically discriminated against by American society? This conundrum is what drives Julia to present this topic to you today.
Julia is a proud descendant of the Choctaw and Cherokee people, as well as Irish and English immigrants that came to this country through Ellis Island and Jamestown, VA, respectively. Her historically charged background has been a huge influence on her life and her work as a designer. Navigating the implications of stolen land, ethnic cleansing and cultural erasure, with ancestors on both sides of the story, feels akin to her journey as an Architect. How does one dedicate their life to the design of buildings that may further occupy spaces belonging to Native peoples, but doing so for the benefit of ancestors of all kinds of people that were historically discriminated against by American society? This conundrum is what drives Julia to present this topic to you today.