Lydia Link

Lydia Link (she/her) is Studio Gang’s Build Shop Manager and Urban Ecology Specialist, working out of the Chicago office. Holding degrees in studio art and biology, Lydia supports design teams’ material understandings as well as the studio’s broader ecological research and experimentation. Drawing on her expertise as a professional furnituremaker, she manages the studio’s Build Shop, which acts as a testing ground for prototypes at a variety of scales—from architectural mockups to exhibition components for Stage Buoys and Working in America, among others.

She has also managed our planted Rooftop since its inception, collaborating closely with beekeepers, ecologists, ornithologists, and soil scientists to realize related programming and data collection efforts, including our annual BioBlitz and Honey Harvests. An important contributor to our self-published field guide, Island in the Sky, Lydia works closely with the research and publications team to expand our knowledge of biodiverse, elevated habitat creation for urban wildlife.

Lydia received her Bachelor of Science in Studio Art & Biology from Bard College, where her senior thesis on nest site selection of the Veery was published in the scientific journal The Condor: Ornithological Applications. In her free time, she enjoys birdwatching and back country canoeing, as well as serving on the Illinois chapter of The Nature Conservancy’s Board of Trustees.