Rachelle Hassan Ain, AIA

Rachelle Hassan Ain, AIA

Ain has been based in Boston since completing her master’s degree at Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 2010. As a senior project manager at Bruner/Cott Architects, where she worked through 2019, she was involved in numerous institutional and civic projects through which she honed her approach to sustainability, health, and equity. She moved into management roles on projects such as a 250,000-square-foot renovation and addition at Boston University School of Law. She also led the project team for the Yale Divinity School Regenerative Village, a Living Building Challenge project, through its master planning and early design stages.

Now an associate at Utile, Ain leads its affordable housing projects in the greater Boston region and brings her commitment to decarbonization and healthy materials to the design of multifamily buildings. She also oversees firmwide initiatives aimed at bolstering sustainability standards and design and construction administration best practices. Her strategic leadership also informs Utile’s mentorship program and justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts.

Driven by her belief in the power of collective action to spur systemic change, Ain has devoted considerable time and energy to shaping professional communities and conversations focused on reducing embodied carbon. She was a co-chair for the Boston Society of Architects’ Carbon Leadership Forum Hub in December 2020, and, through her leadership, it has become a thriving community of volunteers dedicated to uncovering new pathways to reduce embodied carbon through summits, advocacy efforts, and other initiatives. Ain also directed three years of the chapter’s Women-in-Design Symposium events, using them as a platform for interdisciplinary discourse on ways to increase social equity in the built environment. The events gathered a wide range of speakers, including social scientists, community activists, and performance artists, who engaged with hundreds of participants.

Ultimately, Ain’s story is one defined by a love for people and place. She eagerly gathers people together to learn from one another and seek opportunities for collective action. Her work is a testament to the ways in which design excellence can be both accessible and address many of the profession’s most pressing issues.