Archinect
Calvin Chen

Calvin Chen

Austin, TX, US

 

About 

Bercy Chen Studio LP is an architecture & urban planning firm with design/build capabilities based in Austin, Texas founded in 2001 by partners Thomas Bercy and Calvin Chen.

Bercy Chen Studio LP is committed to collaborating with clients in identifying design solutions and planning strategies to create innovative designs based on environmentally sustainable and financially viable business models in both the public and private sector. Having experience as a design/build operation, the firm’s first hand knowledge of construction & finance is crucial in ensuring successful project implementation. The firm is a member of the City of Austin’s Green Building Program and USGBC with certified 3 Star projects.

The firm was profiled in Architectural Record’s December 2006 “Design Vanguard” award issue, selected as one of ten emerging design firms in the world. In 2007 Bercy Chen Studio LP was part of the Young Americans exhibition at the Deutsche Architektur Museum in Frankfurt, Germany.

Thomas is from Belgium and Calvin is from Taiwan by way of Australia; the partners’ European and Asian backgrounds form a design philosophy of unique perspectives. The work is influenced by vernacular precedents from various cultures- whether Islamic, Indian, African or pre-columbian, while maintaining respect for the particular contemporary contextual conditions.

Due to this unique approach, the work has received national and international attention. Bercy Chen Studio won the prestigious “Emerging Voices” prize from the Architectural League of New York in 2006. Every year the League selects 7 of the most innovative designers from Europe and North America for this award.

The firm’s work has been published in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week. Thomas & Calvin have also been invited guest speakers at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. 

Elsewhere:

Employment 

Bercy Chen Studio, Austin, TX, US, Founding Partner

Jan 2001 - current
 

Education 

The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, US, BArch, Bachelor of Architecture

Studied with Michael Rotondi, Marcos Novak. & Dr. Andrew Vernooy.

Aug 1993 - May 1998
 

Areas of Specialization