Robin Chiang, seated at one of his favorite Hainan chicken restaurants
We are so excited to shine a spotlight on one of Livable City’s long-time supporters and collaborators, Robin Chiang & Company! We sat down with Robin for a conversation about how he became interested in environmental design, architecture, and public infastructure.
Graduating from San Francisco’s Lowell High School, Robin was interested in architecture and design from a young age. However, it wasn’t until he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley in his senior year of college that he found a community that shared his values within his field of work. In the context of student activism and Vietnam War protests, Robin came to deeply understand the relationship between the design of public spaces and outcomes for communities.
His entire career has focused on design within the public realm, (libraries, train stations, water towers, and more) focusing on the people that live and work in the space. Explaining one of his projects designing a bus maintenance facility, Robin described how he interviewed mechanics and staff to fully understand how the building would be used, in order to create a successful design. For example, upon hearing that workers spend a majority of time lying on the floor accessing parts beneath vehicles, the decision to scrap icy-cold stone flooring material was obvious.
Many public agencies struggle to facilitate community engagement for public infrastructure, but when Robin Chiang explains his approach, it sounds like a no-brainer. Designers and architects serving the public must listen and strive to understand how it feels to be a resident, worker, or neighbor to any given project. Because at the end of the day, “the community, the people, are the ones that have to live with it!”
Robin Chiang & Company have had great success in putting their words to action with projects designing for BART; the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency; SamTrans; the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District and many others. With a focus on pragmatism, innovation, and sustainability, the firm is dedicated to enhancing the urban realm through the design of transportation facilities rooted in their context.
As we finished our conversation, Robin shared how much of a privilege it is to serve the public and an honor to have their trust with these projects. As he left for his next appointment, he was hopeful that he would run into the BART station janitor emptying the trash cans for a quick conversation. Having had a role in designing them several years ago, he was excited to know how they were holding up.
Robin Chiang founded Robin Chiang & Company in 1997 to design public infrastructure that meets the community’s needs and embodies the unique qualities of each location.
Back row: Maclean Carr; Joe Anglim; Anshul Gupta; Roumel Butiong; Robin Chiang; Eric Petrie. Front row: Victor Payes Blanco; Peggy Chiang; Colin Murdock; David Fung
Very front: Mr. Bobo (seated)
