Priya Jain
Dr. Jain's research explores the ways in which architecture and urban planning have shaped and responded to the social, political, and economic transformations.
Associate Professor
Priya Jain, an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at Texas A&M University, is a celebrated architectural historian and theorist whose work centers on modern architecture, urbanism, and cultural history in India and South Asia.
Biography
Priya Jain, AIA, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at Texas A&M University. An architect licensed in both the US and India, she has worked on the reuse and restoration of a diverse range of historically significant buildings, including Trinity Church in Boston, St. Elizabeths Hospital/Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) in Washington DC, the Jewett Arts Center at Wellesley College, the Richardson-Olmsted Complex in Buffalo and Jaisalmer Fort, India. Her teaching spans studios, seminar courses and service learning field projects at the undergraduate and gradute levels, covering various aspects of historic preservation design, theory, policies and practice. Her research focuses on South Asian and South Asian American architectural history and preservation within a transnational context. Her work has been published in a number of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, including the Journal of Architectural Education (JAE), Architectural Theory Review (ATR), Future Anterior: Journal of Historic Preservation, History, Theory, and Criticism, amongst others. Priya serves as Chair of the Heritage Conservation Committee of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) and as Secretary and Board Member of the national non-profit Historic Preservation Education Foundation (HPEF). Her work has been supported by numerous grants from organizations like the Smithsonian-Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, the Historic Preservation Education Foundation, the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research and others. Priya is also the Communications Lead of the SAH Women in Architecture Affiliate Group and has been the Field Editor (Architecture) for the Getty Conservation Institute AATA Online (Abstracts of Conservation Literature) since 2017.
Education
M.Arch
University of Arizona
2007
Certificate in Preservation Studies
University of Arizona
2007
B.Arch
School of Planning and Architecture
New Delhi
India
2004
Staff Publications
- Priya Jain, “From ‘Desi’ History to Heritage: The Unique Challenges of South Asian American Representation within AAPI Heritage,” Change Over Time (2025) In Press
- Priya Jain, “South Asian American Architects and Designers,” in “Rediscovering Asian American and Pacific Islander Architects & Designers,” ed. Gail Dubrow, Sean H. McPherson, Yao-Fen You, Final Report of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH)and Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum Initiative (2023)
- Priya Jain, “Prefabrication and Transnational Building Materials in Modern India,” Architectural Theory Review (2023)
- Priya Jain, “Clean, Cool Air: Health and Air Conditioning in India,” in “Health,” ed. Sara Stevens and Joy Knoblauch, Journal of Architectural Education, vol. 76, no. 1 (2022)
- Priya Jain, “Selling Comfort: Volkart Brothers and the Origins of Air Conditioning in India (1923-1954),” in “Retrofit—Energy Crises & Climate Exigencies from Preservation’s Perspective,” ed. Daniel A. Barber and Fallon Aidoo, Future Anterior: Journal of Historic Preservation, History, Theory, and Criticism, vol.18 (2021)
- Priya Jain, “India’s Modern Heritage: Conservation Challenges and Opportunities,” in Heritage Conservation in Postcolonial India: Approaches and Challenges, ed. Manish Chalana and Ashima Krishna (New York: Routledge, 2021), 126-137. ISBN 9780367619947.
- Priya Jain, “A Splendorous Burden,” in “Water,” ed. Alpa Nawre and Carey Clouse, Journal of Architectural Education, vol. 74, no. 1 (2020): pp. 123-125.
- Priya Jain, “Between College and Town: Envisioning the First Indian MIT and the Planning of the Indian Institute of Technology (1951) in Kharagpur,” Arris: Journal of the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, no. 31 (2020): pp. 46-66. ISSN 10485945.
- Priya Jain, “Building Biographies: Chronicling Time in Architectural Representation” in Proceedings of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) 107th Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, eds. Amy Kulper, Grace La and Jeremy Ficca (2019): 610-613. ISBN: 978-1-944214-21-0.
- Priya Jain, “The ‘Iconic’ and ‘Everyday’ Mid-century Modern: Shifting Attitudes Towards Repair and Preservation,” in Proceedings of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) 106th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, eds. Amir Ameri and Rebecca O’Neal Dagg (2018): 534-539. ISBN: 978-1-944214-15-9.