Ramona Adlakha

Ramona Adlakha is a uniquely multifaceted architect: a skilled designer, an adept project manager, and an advocate for voices historically underrepresented in the built environment.

Since joining KPMB in 2021, Ramona has amassed an impressive portfolio of completed work, including the award-winning global headquarters of Scotiabank in downtown Toronto. She also played a leading role in designing workplaces for a financial firm and a law firm.

With a comprehensive skill set spanning design, project management, and execution, Ramona often guides projects from pre-design through close-out. This end-to-end experience has shaped her detailed understanding of the relationship between design and construction and her pragmatic, efficient approach.

Prior to joining KPMB and becoming a licensed architect, Ramona was an architectural designer at Diamond Schmitt Architects. There, she contributed to large-scale cultural and institutional projects, including a library and arts campus and a hub for performing arts education.

Ramona is an advocate for integrating diverse perspectives in architecture. She is currently the executive board chair of BEAToronto (Building Equality in Architecture Toronto). Her first book, Women [Re]Build: Stories, Polemics, Futures, published in 2019, is an anthology of reflections from women designers centred on architectural practice. While completing her Master of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, Ramona also co-founded Penn Women in Architecture (PWIA) and organized two symposiums on architectural practice and the role of women in AEC.

At the University of Pennsylvania, Ramona was awarded the Alpha Ro Chi Medal for professional merit and the William Melhorn Scholarship in architectural history and theory. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, Fine Art, and Literary Studies from the University of Toronto, where she was awarded the Provincial Laureate Scholarship from the Government of Canada’s Millenium Foundation.

Ramona speaks five languages and is an avid reader. She was born in Calcutta, India.