[3][4] Raj Barr was born in Colombo, British Ceylon, to Alexander Hamilton Barr-Kumarakulasinghe and Francesca Thanga-Ranee Winslow.
[9] After graduating from the University of Ceylon in 1971 Raj moved to Hong Kong and worked with Jon Prescott RIBA on plans for Macau New Town and renovations to the historic Teatro Dom Pedro V. Raj worked for the N-E Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board on York District General Hospital in the United Kingdom in 1972.
He joined Llewelyn-Davies Associates in 1973 and worked on The Military Hospital in Baghdad, the Doha Hotel in Qatar, and the Manama Conference Center in Bahrein.
Practice experience includes Cortlandt Medical Center New York, Eco Maya Condominiums in Mexico, Altos Escondidos Eco Development in Panama, Aleid Eco Resort in Saudi Arabia, World Bank HQ, Hilton, Hyatt Regency and Kimpton Hotels; Rasika, Bibiana, Bombay Club and Ardeo Restaurants; the Washington National Cathedral, Masjid Noor and Jain Temple; Trinidad & Tobago, Sri Lanka and Malta Embassies; and numerous custom homes.
Raj taught at the University of the District of Columbia from 2017 to 2020 with the express purpose of helping the Master of Architecture program achieve accreditation.
Throughout his career as both a practitioner and an educator Raj has attempted to publicly champion the principles of sustainable design[11][12] as well as innovative approaches to addressing social problems including homelessness.