Yasmeen Lari was born in 1941 in the town of Dera Ghazi Khan,[1] and spent her early years in and around Lahore in a renowned clan of Iraqi Biradari.

Her father Zafarul Ahsan, an ICS officer, was working on major development projects in Lahore and other cities, through which Lari was exposed to architecture.

[7] However, she remains active with her historical preservation by serving as the advisor of the UNESCO project, as the executive director of Heritage Foundation Pakistan, and as the chairperson of the Karavan Initiatives.

[1] Yasmeen Lari is one of the founders and current chairwoman of the Pakistani Chapter of the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU),[12][13] created in 2018.

[14] On architectural practice in Southeast Asia, Lari has said, "The two ends of the spectrum of the two worlds we live and work in are best captured in the words of two famous architects, Mies van der Rohe and Hassan Fathy.

In contrast Hassan Fathy, who has spoken more forcefully than any other on the beatify of the vernacular and the importance of tradition, states: 'You must start from the beginning, letting your new buildings grow from the daily lives of the people who will live in them, shaping the houses to the measure of people's songs, weaving the pattern of a village as if on the village looms, mindful of the trees and the crafts that grow there, respectful of the skylines and humble before the seasons.

[24][25] In 2022, she was appointed The Sir Arthur Marshall Professor of Sustainable Design in the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge.

I never imagined that as I focus on my country's most marginalized people — venturing down uncharted vagabond pathways -- I could still be considered for the highest of honours in the architectural profession.

"RIBA and the Award Committee have heralded a new direction for the profession, encouraging all architects to focus not only on the privileged but also humanity at large that suffers from disparities, conflicts and climate change.