About Chris

Chris Chu established her practice in 1994, specializing in residential design after having worked with prominent local architecture firms in the Boston area since 1985. She has worked on designs in Beacon Hill, Back Bay, South End as well as the western suburbs of Boston such as Newton, Wellesley, Weston, Lincoln, Concord, Sudbury and Westwood.

Chris was the architect for WGBH’s This Old House Boston area project for the 2010 season and has work featured in the December 2010 and January/February and March 2011 issues of This Old House Magazine. Her work has also been featured in the Not So Big House series by Sarah Susanka - Not So big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live.

She is licensed in Massachusetts and has been a member of the American Institute of Architects since 1989. She holds a Master of Architecture from Rice University and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Pomona College. She also has a passion for art, music, and gardening.

Chris has taught design at the Boston Architectural Center, and has been a speaker at Boston Society of Architects and American Institute of Architects’ Residential Design Conference and Build Boston. Chris has served as the AIA Small Project Forum New England liaison. She has also served as a juror for the Small Firms Small Projects Design Awards, Boston Society of Architects, 2010. Chris was appointed by the mayor of the City of Newton, MA to serve on a “working group” which helped improve the city’s zoning code relative to residential properties.

“With Chris, both the process and the product were wonderful. I can’t recommend her highly enough.”

Design Approach

Chris' approach to residential design is based on a set of core principles:

  • Listening to and understanding what is at the core of clients’ objectives and translating that into a design which meets, and exceeds, their expectations
  • Integrating design of the inside with the outside
  • Maximizing views and natural light
  • Creating balanced and beautiful spaces
  • Improving the flow of spaces
  • Improving functionality, both indoors and outdoors
  • Doing all of the above while respecting clients’ budgets and time frame

”It was a pleasure to work with you Chris.  And I would look forward to it again; however my house is now so lovely that I am never leaving!” (see more)