Sho-Ping Chin ’75 *77

Respected and beloved architect Sho-Ping Chin died at home, surrounded by her family and loved ones, on June 13, 2015, after a long battle with cancer.

            After earning her A.B. in architecture, Sho-Ping remained at Princeton, earning her M.Arch. degree in 1977. Before beginning her graduate program, with the mayor of Princeton officiating, she married MIT graduate David Chi Keung Chan, who was starting his doctoral study at Penn. After she completed her degree, the couple moved for a year to Philadelphia, where Sho-Ping worked for the architectural firm GBQC. In 1978 they moved to Boston, where Sho-Ping made her significant mark in architecture, and where their daughter, Poole, joined the family.

            Sho-Ping worked in various architectural firms in Boston over the years and eventually became a principal in the architectural firm Payette Associates, specializing in hospital designs.  Her contributions to architecture were numerous and significant.  In September 2015, after her death, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), of which Sho-Ping was a Fellow (FAIA), had a special tribute for her at its annual AIA Women’s Leadership Summit in Seattle. Sho-Ping had co-founded the Summit a few years before. 

            The organizers of that memorial tribute, who included friend and colleague Elizabeth Padjen ’75, created a video that provides special insight into Sho-Ping’s life and contributions to architecture. You can view it at http://www.payette.com/post/2848200-video-sho-ping-chin-faia. In addition, two other memorials were announced at the Summit: the Sho-Ping Chin Academic Scholarship, funded by her partners at Payette, the first named academic scholarship at the AIA Foundation in memory of a female architect; and the Sho-Ping Chin Memorial Leadership Fund, which will cover Summit registrations for a number of women who would not otherwise be able to attend.

            Sho-Ping will also be remembered for her infectious humor, her sense of style, and her wonderful cooking. To David and Poole, and to Sho-Ping’s many friends and colleagues, the Class extends deep sympathy. We share their loss.