profile / alumni / environmental-design
February 22, 2018
BY JAMIE WETHERBE

Space Exploration: Meet Designer Sean Chen

AC: What are you working on right now?
Sean Chen (BS 15 Environmental Design) architectural designer, Gensler: Mixed-use projects, including waterfront park design in Wuhan, China.

AC: How do you define success?
SC: Being able to find balance between work and life.

AC: Do you have any superstitions?
SC: Feng shui, the relationship between people and space.

AC: What’s the design cliché you’re most tempted to use?
SC: Less is more.

AC: What’s the one tool you can’t do without?
SC: Physical? A computer.

AC: What’s the first site you look at when you open your computer in the morning?
SC: Google … or ArchDaily.

AC: Where do you go (online or offline) when you’re taking a break?
SC: Online, Instagram; offline, cafe/shop

AC: What do you do to detox from media and screens?
SC: Work out.

AC: If you could trade jobs with anyone for a day who would it be?
SC: Elon Musk.

AC: What book is on your bedside table?
SC: Nothing at the moment.

AC: Who are the most interesting designers working today?
SC: Ryue Nishizawa.

AC: Describe a moment in your childhood where you first identified as a designer.
SC: When my drawing was appreciated by others.

AC: If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
SC: Time traveling.

AC: Where is your happy place?
SC: Where my love ones are.

AC: What’s your most irrational or rational fear?
SC: Irrational, the judgment day; rational, losing loved ones.

AC: What’s your most prized possession?
SC: The first car my parents bought me.

AC: How would your closest friend describe you?
SC: Funny and funny.

AC: What’s your best piece of advice for an ArtCenter student who’s interested in following your career path?
SC: Travel more — experience the space and it will make you a better designer.