Olivia Haynie Lara is an architect, boutique hotelier, and cultural preservationist whose blends architecture, anthropology, and adventure. As a licensed architect and pilot, she flies to some of the most remote and extreme environments on Earth. While immersing herself in disappearing architectural traditions and indigenous ways of building, she works to reimagine their relevance for the future in the form of new architecture that acts as a catalyst for cultural preservation in that community.

Educated at Cornell University, she began her career at leading design firms in New York City, contributing to major cultural and public projects. Seeking deeper alignment with her values, she left NYC for Marrakech, where she founded an independent architectural practice devoted to regenerative design, sustainability, and cultural preservation. Her work challenges modern approaches to architectural design, instead seeking instead to preserve and evolve the knowledge embedded in the world’s oldest and most resilient structures.

Spanning architecture, hospitality, beauty, and aviation, each a facet of a broader mission: to design systems and experiences that regenerate cultural and environmental ecosystems, celebrate the interconnectedness of cultures, and harness the power of emergent materials and technologies in harmony with centuries old techniques.

She is developing a boutique hotel collection inspired by vernacular architecture, a beauty brand reviving ancient rituals, an expedition-based research project exploring architecture’s adaptation to extreme environments, and a flight club pioneering new forms of adventure aviation.

Olivia’s work bridges past and future, tradition and technology, and permanence and impermanence. Her work creates opportunities for innovation while respecting the deep heritage of place and culture, offering transformative spaces that spark connection and inspire discovery.

Take a look at Olivia’s current projects below.