Alex Ching-Chen Liu (he/him) is a Taiwanese registered architect currently pursuing the Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design at Columbia University GSAPP.
Building upon a solid foundation in architectural practice, his work approaches architecture as an act of integration—engaging urban context, site history, and environmental conditions to reorganize the relationships between built space and human activity. Prior to joining GSAPP, he worked as a senior architectural designer at JJP Architects + Planners, one of Taiwan’s leading firms, contributing to projects including industrial adaptive reuse, office complexes, and university laboratory buildings. Through both built and speculative work, he continues to explore architecture as a tool for addressing environmental and social issues.
Beyond architectural practice, he actively explores graphic and visual approaches to representing design ideas. Through drawing, photography, publications, and mixed media, he continues to challenge conventional modes of architectural representation.
Education
Columbia University GSAPP (New York)
Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design, 2025-2026
National Cheng Kung University (Tainan, Taiwan)
Bachelor of Architecture, 2016-2021
Experience
Columbia University GSAPP (New York)
Teaching Assistant for Architectural Drawing and Representation I & II, 2025-
Student Photographer, 2025-
JJP Architects + Planners
(Taipei, Taiwan)
Senior Architecture Designer, 2022-2025
Zhaoyang Architects (Dali, China)
Architecture Design Intern, 2019-2020
AMBi Studio (Taichung, Taiwan)
Architecture Design Intern, 2018
Publications
Among Things, B-SIDE(Columbia GSAPP), 2025
Production Editor
The Ideas of Ordinary Objects, Studio Tngtetshiu, 2020
Research Contributor
License
Registered Architect of Taiwan, 2024-
Contact
Email
/
alexchingchenliu@gmail.com
LinkedIn
/
Ching-Chen Liu
Instagram
/
alexdoublechen
© Alex CC Liu 2026
House of Oblique
Year
2020
Project Type
Academic Design Studio Work (NCKU Architecture)
Instructor
Po-Yu Chao + Si-An Yu (Studio tngtetshiu)
Site Location
Tainan, Taiwan
How can architecture in rural area refer to the conflictive order of surroundings?
Conducted in the studio Critical Rural Architecture (Studio tngtetshiu), this project reinterprets rural typologies through installations, models, and house design. The House of Oblique challenges the dominance of orthogonal living: old and new grids collide, producing irregular spaces where columns, walls, and stairs interrupt daily routines. By forcing residents to adapt, the house turns architecture itself into an active participant in shaping everyday life.
The work documentation was later compiled and published as part of the studio-led research project, The Ideas of Ordinary Objects.
Stage 1
“Inter-oblique”, a spatial concept drawn from odd-shaped buildings commonly seen at rural road intersections, where two orders collide: the exterior wall conforms to the street, while roof, structure, and partitions follow their own logic—resulting in forms marked by tension and incompleteness.
Stage 2
An installation is made to reinterpret the concept of “inter-oblique”. On a place where people's daily walking path collide with an existing rectangular prism, two stairs are put on each side of the existing grey bench. The oddness of each stairs-one with a tilted stairstep and the other with a cut part-arouses people to recognize the collision of two orders when passing through.
Stage 3
A prototype of “inter-oblique” collides two 9×9m grids: one with a tilted structure that disrupts spatial use, the other cut by a ramp that leaves the interior incomplete.
Stage 4
The spatial model of Stage 3 further evolves into a rural house design: while most buildings align with the road or north, a three-story house tilts on its own axis. An added extension follows the road’s order, producing an “inter-oblique” condition between old and new.
GF PLAN
2F PLAN
3F PLAN
SOUTH ELEVATIONAA’ SECTION
BB’ SECTION
CC’ SECTION
© Alex CC Liu 2025