Utako is a graduate of the University of Toronto (B.Eng Civil Engineering 2006, B.A.Hon Architecture Theory 2009). She has work experience in numerous countries in Asia and North America with her prior expertise in the field of transportation engineering and urban design. She is bilingual in English and Japanese. In 2010, she worked as a summer intern with Kajima Design in Tokyo, Japan. She was selected by the principle architect to take part in the Shenyang International Urban Design Competition and assisted the team win the competition. She also worked with Professor Aziza Chaouni at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto and submitted an entry into the Urbaninform 2010 Competition and claimed second prize. Utako’s academic research focuses on the integration of architecture with its urban surrounding. She is particularly interested in the cultural, social, environmental and spatial exchange that takes place at the intersection of the built form and the surrounding environment. Her research also focuses on the bridging between architecture and engineering, and the relation between Japanese and North American contemporary architecture.