Monika Haefelfinger

President and Founding Partner of XTEN, Architecture

Born in Basel, Switzerland, Monika Haefelfinger’s interest in art and design deepened during an apprenticeship with her father’s architecture firm in Sissach, Switzerland.

Shortly after, she moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California where she graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture and was awarded the Robert Allen Rogaff Award in 1992. Two years later, she completed her Master of Science Degree in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University.

Following her studies, she joined the Swiss architecture office Herzog and de Meuron in Basel and played a key role in the design of several award-winning buildings including the Institute for Hospital Pharmaceuticals Rossettiareal in Basel, Switzerland.

Monika returned to the U.S. to work for DMJM/ Keating on notable high-rise building projects in Asia before establishing her own design studio in Los Angeles. In 2000, Monika launched XTEN Architecture in partnership with her late husband Austin Kelly, and since 2015, is in partnership with Scott Utterstrom.

Under her continuous design leadership, XTEN Architecture has received numerous awards and is recognized globally as a leader in the field of modern architecture.

Monika lives in the Larchmont Village area of Los Angeles in a home that she designed and built for herself, her two children, their dog, and their cat.