Kristin Triff teaches art and architectural history in the Department of Fine Arts and in the Cities Program, focusing on the intersection of social history and architecture in the early Modern era. She graduated from Carleton College in 1984 with a B.A. in English Literature, then earned a master’s in architecture from Harvard University in 1992 and a Ph.D. in the history of art and architecture from Brown University in 2000. She has practiced architecture in Boston and Miami, and taught undergraduate and graduate architectural design at the University of Miami and the University of Florida.

Her teaching philosophy focuses on expanding each student's instinctive understanding of architecture and urbanism by looking at the social, political, historical, and professional aspects of the built environment. By examining documents ranging from building inventories to historical narratives to construction documents, students gain a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between architecture, cities, and society.