Kristina Leach is a theorist, strategist, and historian of architectural design whose academic work traces the dynamic interplay between technology, culture, and the medium of architectural representation. Her research informs user-centered strategies across civic, corporate, and academic contexts, bridging historical insight with contemporary design challenges.
Her forthcoming book, The Audacity of Design, opens with a study of the cultural shifts that distinguished the architect from the builder. By examining how plan, section, and elevation coalesced during the Renaissance—alongside emerging scientific and cultural paradigms—Leach constructs a framework for understanding architecture’s evolving relationship with computation. This historical lens enables her to draw parallels between Renaissance transformations and the 19th-century cultural and scientific shifts that continue to shape architectural practice today.
Since 1994, Leach has also been deeply engaged in affordable housing initiatives. Beginning in Cincinnati, she collaborated with neighborhood nonprofits and worked in Cultural Resource Management to adapt historic structures for modern housing, leveraging preservation and tax credit strategies. Later, during the West Coast housing crisis, she led Anomura Housing Society in rethinking foundational assumptions about shelter. Her systems-based approach, grounded in community engagement, introduced new models for land use, construction, and housing finance—unlocking opportunities in markets constrained by land costs.
In the classroom, Leach has taught Architectural History and Design at institutions including Miami University, UNC Charlotte, and Western Washington University. Her lectures have reached audiences at the Royal BC Museum, Washington University, Duke, and Oberlin, and her scholarship has been supported by fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, Getty Research Institute, and others.
Now serving as an Affiliated Research Fellow at the University of Oklahoma, Leach contributes to the American School Project. Her current writing focuses on John Di Castri and Richard Hunter, both students of Bruce Goff, whose work reflects the spirit of architectural experimentation that defines the American School.
