Monika ThadhaniTeaching Professor, Design Studiesshe/her/hers

I am an architect, interior architect, designer, and professor with over 20 years of professional practice experience.

As the founder of MoNa Architecture, Design and Planning in Chicago, I lead projects that challenge traditional norms and focus on social equity and community engagement. My work interrogates how architecture, design, and interior spaces evolve in the face of automation and AI, continually questioning how these advancements impact human interaction and well-being.

My design philosophy sees architecture as a dynamic, adaptive force — akin to an evolving ecosystem — driven by nature’s principles. This approach influences both my practice and my role as a teaching professor at UW–Madison, where I inspire students to explore how design can remain human-centered amidst technological change.

In addition to my professional and academic work, I founded Education for Future, a nonprofit advancing education and social justice. Through community events and art workshops, I foster engagement and growth, while my collaboration with Laka Reacts addresses global social issues.

My accomplishments have been recognized with the “40 Under 40” national award by Building Design and Construction, honoring me as an influential individual in design, construction, and engineering. This accolade highlights my leadership, the impact of my work, and my ability to integrate practice with academia and community involvement.

Personal Statement

My work and research investigates architecture and its larger environment, the metropolis that can be responsive to human behavior and adjust dynamically to current needs and circumstances, which are often unpredictable. It proposes solutions and applications involving modern technology, ecology, and economy that, together, can make a significant contribution to social revitalization. My work eschews traditional thinking as a default response to contemporary issues. Rather, I develop an authentic language of design where architecture becomes a holistic and clear solution to the problem.

My teaching methodology focuses on preparing students to become independent, critical thinkers, and to have the courage to face the issues that are unique to today’s and future generations, to develop the principles and vision to create a better world for themselves and future generations. I believe that all students must learn the value of collaboration. Saying that, the focus cannot be on architecture or interior architecture alone but rather a larger lens of economic, scientific, social, and cultural aspect. I discourage students from borrowing positions from others. I teach them to base their project choices on clarification and an expression of their authentic beliefs, principles, and values.

I try to look at discovery, invention, and innovation as a process for developing new models which are authentic and useable in addressing future issues. Discovery is the understanding of “knowing what you do not know.” Invention is the critical thinking that comes with a holistic analysis of the research and developing principles of approach. Innovation is the ability to clearly express these ideas in an effective, efficient way that creates a base that can be developed and applied to larger environments and concerns.

I constantly use nature as a metaphor because it speaks to design through purpose, efficiency, and its connection to the larger ecosystem and environment. It naturally multitasks, solving many problems in the most efficient and comprehensive manner.

I believe that architects-in-the-making have to go beyond their perceived limitations, continue to grow, learn, and not be discouraged from the many setbacks they will encounter. My studio proves we are all capable of making great things greater through curiosity, passion, and confidence.

Featured Media

• Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture, Monika Thadhani on BD+C’s 40 Under 40 List
• Bustler, Meet the student recipients of the AIA Chicago Foundation 2023 Diversity Scholarship and Chicago Award in Architecture
• AIA Chicago Foundation, Chicago Award in Architecture – Student Award