Born in Moscow. In 1978, he graduated from the Moscow Architecture Institute (Professor Boris Barkhin's group). From 1978-93, he worked in partnership with Alexander Brodsky. Since 1994, he has headed the Utkin Studio (architecture and design). He is a professor at the International Academy of Architecture (Moscow). He has won prizes at many international competitions, among which are: Theatre for Future Generations (1978, Paris - up to 1993, all the awards he won were together with Alexander Brodsky), Crystal Palace (1982, Tokyo), Historic and Local Housing (1983, Tokyo), Glass Tower (1984, Tokyo), Bulwark of Resistance (1985, Tokyo), Glass Monument to the year 2001 (1986, Tokyo), The Intellectual Market (1987, Tokyo), East Meets West (1988, Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre, New York), Tower of the Millenium (1997, Tokyo); he won 3rd place (together with Alexander Brodsky and Evgeny Monakhov) in the architectural rating 10 Best Buildings of the Decade (1997, Moscow) and 2nd place in the Russian Union of Architects Best Project of the Year competition (1997, together with S. Shestopalov); he also won a prize at the Venice Biennale (2000), and at the Ideal City Competition (2004, Moscow).

The many buildings and interiors he has designed in Moscow, other Russian cities, the USA and the Тhe Netherlands include: The Alexander Grin Museum, Feodosiya, USSR (1985-1989, together with Alexander Brodsky), Atrium Restaurant, Moscow, USSR (1986-1987, together with Alexander Brodsky and Evgeny Monakhov), Entrance portal of the European Ceramics Centre, Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands (1991-1992, together with Alexander Brodsky), country estate at Sosna, Moscow Region (1997-2000), mansion in Levshinsky pereulok, Moscow (2000-2004, together with SKIP), country estate at Zhukovka, Moscow region (2000-2004).

He has frequently participated in exhibitions. His personal exhibitions include: Photo Exhibition Melancholy, Regina Gallery, Moscow (1984), Photo Exhibition Melancholy (1995-98, USA), Ilya Utkin’s Non-Contemporary Architecture (2000, Moskomarchitecture, Moscow), Photo Exhibition 24 (2001, House of Photography, Moscow).

He did the sets for Brothers and Liza (1998, Mossoviet Theatre) and for the ballets Cinderella (2000, Mariinsky Theatre) and The Bright Stream (2005, National Opera, Riga (together with Evgeny Monakhov and Elena Markovskaya).