Julia Watson is an Australian-born designer, author, educator, and thought leader pioneering climate-resilient design through Indigenous knowledge systems. Of Greco-Egyptian heritage, she coined the global Lo—TEK movement to reframe traditional ecological knowledge as essential to addressing the planetary crisis. She is the author of the best-selling Lo—TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism (TASCHEN, 2019) and Lo—TEK Water: A Field Guide for TEKnology (TASCHEN, 2025), works that have become seminal references for architects, designers, and policymakers redefining sustainability.

Watson co-founded the Lo—TEK Institute and co-directs the Lo—TEK Office for Intercultural Urbanism alongside Indigenous and non-Indigenous designers and scientists, working with communities to advance TEKnological Urbanism — a city-making approach rooted in reciprocity, ancestral wisdom, and intercultural co-design. Her practice has advised leading organizations including NIKE, LEGO, and Buro Happold, bridging ancient ecological technologies with contemporary innovation. Growing up in Australia, where Aboriginal science and knowledge are formally integrated into education, Watson developed a lifelong commitment to advancing the respect and integration of Indigenous systems into mainstream practice worldwide.

Her leadership and contributions have been widely recognized: she was named to Wallpaper’s list of 400 people shaping creative America for three consecutive years (2023–2025), honored in 2024 by the Institute for Classical Art and Architecture for her lifelong contributions to education, and in 2025 by the New York ASLA as their Climate Honoree. She has taught at Columbia, RISD, RPI, and Harvard, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Vogue, Architectural Digest, BBC, DOMUS, and CNN.