Jackie Koo

Jackie Koo AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, IIDAis the Founding Principal of KOO, an award-winning integrated Architecture, Interior Design, and Urban Planning firm established in 2005 and recipient of the 2023 Chicago Firm Award. KOO’s first project was the 27 story Wit Hotel at the corner of State and Lake Streets in Chicago’s loop which made her one of the few female design architects and architects of record for a high rise building in Chicago. Her diverse portfolio of work in both the public and private sectors, includes the Sable Hotel and Offshore rooftop bar at Navy Pier, the Dual-branded Hyatt hotel at the renovated Old Cook County Hospital, and the Altgeld Family Resource Center at Altgeld Gardens. Jackie was selected for Chicago’s first Committee on Design and is currently a member of UIC’s Design Review Committee. She was the inaugural recipient of Chicago Women in Architecture’s Breaking Glass award which honors established architects who are changing the face of the profession through their achievements and design excellence. Her firm was recognized as one of the top hospitality design firms by Forbes in 2025.

Jackie received her B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago and her M. Arch from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She began her career at Richard Meier and Partners in New York City, followed by over a decade working at firms in Rhode Island and Chicago prior to founding her own practice in 2005.