Biography
Nootan Bharani (she/her) is Associate Director of Design and University Partnerships at Arts + Public Life at the University of Chicago. An architect with a deep background in environmental sustainability, she has spent much of her career in non-traditional practice, working directly with community partners on design, building and infrastructure projects. Nootan is impassioned about redress of the swiftly increasing chasm between the most affluent and most impoverished, and the ways in which climate change are exacerbating the inequity, globally.
Previously, Nootan was Lead Design Manager for Place Lab at the University of Chicago where she was a thought and practice leader for design and construction, and part of the team that developed the Ethical Redevelopment principles and salon series.
Prior to coming to the University of Chicago, Nootan was Managing Director for CB&I Sustainable Design Solutions of Illinois. She was named the Dubin Family Chicago Young Architect of the Year in 2014 and she co-founded the Community Interface Committee at the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Nootan received her Bachelor of Architecture professional degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
