Thena Jean-hee Tak is a first generation South Korean American born on the ancestral homelands of the Plains Tribes, including the Lipan Apache, Comanche and Tonkawa, or what is also called today Austin, Texas. She is a designer, researcher, and founder of LILO: Little Office, a design practice that privileges alternative ways of seeing, thinking, and making. Her work involves planetary care and theories of ecological-enactment through stories of kinship and reciprocity that support healing relationships between land and culture.
Prior to SALA, Thena was an Assistant Professor of Architectural Studies at Bard College in New York where she contributed to rethinking pedagogical conventions through interdisciplinary experimentation. She was also previously a Lecturer at SALA, leading option studios, research methods, advanced digital media, and supervising theses and independent studies in our Master of Architecture program. Additionally, she has taught at the University of Minneapolis College of Design and Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning.
Thena has previously worked at award-winning firms including Vincent James Associates Architects in Minneapolis, Barkow Leibinger Architects in Berlin, and Höweler + Yoon Architecture in Boston. She serves as a JAE Fellows Advocate, offering support and mentorship for the recipients of the JAE Fellowship.
Education
MArch, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
BArch, Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning