It is with profound sadness that we share the news of the passing of our co-founder and leader, Chiu Lin Tse-Chan. Chiu Lin passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, July 18, surrounded by her daughter and family after a year-long battle with lung cancer. Chiu Lin achieved remarkable heights in her career as an architect, and will always be remembered for her strong will and lifelong dedication to her practice.
Born under communist rule in Zhanjiang, China in 1936, Chiu Lin and her family were forced to separate and flee. Chiu Lin completed primary school in Guangzhou, where she met her future husband, Hing Wan Tse. She attended secondary school in Beijing, where she competed on a national level on the ping pong team. Chiu Lin attended university in Taiyuan, China, but moved with her husband to Hong Kong to reunite with her mother before she was able to complete her degree. In 1968, despite speaking very little English, Chiu Lin made the bold decision to move to the United States and reunite with her younger brother, Chi Kin, a then student at Brown University. Chiu Lin’s husband would join her a few years later in San Francisco, where they established their permanent residence and began to build their life together.
A pioneer in the architecture industry, Chiu Lin refused to allow sexism or racism stand in her way. Her relentless commitment to excellence led to her becoming a project manager and eventually a principal at Anshen & Allen Architects (where she would meet future FCA co-founder, David Fong), in spite of not having a formal architecture degree.
Headstrong as ever, in August 1982, Chiu Lin persuaded David to interview for a sizable project at San Francisco International Airport. The project involved the master planning, programming and conceptual design of Terminal 1, an area of approximately 1 million square feet at an estimated construction cost of $150 million. To their surprise, they were awarded the project, and thus established Fong & Chan Architects (FCA).
Chiu Lin’s rigorous quality control methodologies helped lead the firm to great success over the years and earned FCA the praise and loyalty of dozens of repeat clients. The firm completed many noteworthy projects in the Bay Area and beyond, and became known for their expertise in healthcare design. In 2001, Chiu Lin was recognized as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA), one of the highest honors awarded by the AIA. Under her and David’s leadership, FCA received over 80 local and national design awards.
Central to Chiu Lin’s practice was the element of mentorship; she worked one on one with junior staff members to train them in all aspects of design. Fong & Chan Architects has served as an incubator for young designers embarking on their careers, developing them into well-rounded architects who continue to perpetuate the firm’s guiding principles.
We raise our glasses in remembrance of Chiu Lin and hope to honor her spirit by carrying forward her commitment to excellence. Her drive pushed many of us further than we believed we could go, and we owe much of our success, both personally and professionally, to Chiu Lin.
Thank you, Chiu Lin.
August 5, 2024