Emotions Find Their Dwelling in Architecture, Life Quietly Unfolds There
Kris Yao graduated from the Department of Architecture at Tunghai University in 1975, and received his Master of Architecture from University of California, Berkeley in 1978. He is the founder of KRIS YAO | ARTECH, with offices in Taipei and Shanghai. His works span Greater China, with projects also realized in the United States, Europe, and South Asia.
“Emotions find their dwelling in architecture”; life quietly unfolds there. Through years of contemplative practice, Kris Yao has cultivated a heightened sensitivity to both environmental change and the subtleties of human perception. At Water-Moon Monastery, he crafted an atmosphere of rare stillness and serenity. At NTU Cosmology Hall, he allows people to continuously sense the movement of celestial bodies. At Lanyang Museum, he condensed the sweeping landscapes of Yilan, its mountains and sea, into the Wushih Harbor setting. Through the interplay of natural light and shadow, the fluid choreography of space, and a rich palette of materials, his work, grounded in contemporary artistry and enabled by advanced technology, reinvents and reshapes the identity of place.
Architecture spans an extraordinary range of disciplines. Kris Yao expands his perspective through travel, reading, and immersing himself in film and theater. “I truly enjoy embracing unexpected detours along the way,” he reflects, “allowing myself to step beyond my comfort zone and venture into the unknown.” He believes that when we occasionally let go of fixed goals in life’s journey, we can move beyond familiar circles and encounter the world in its most vivid and unexpected forms.
In fact, prior to this, Kris Yao had never designed a hospital. “Among all building types, the two most complex for me are theaters and hospitals.” A hospital is where the full arc of human life unfolds, from birth to aging, illness, and farewell. Besides patients, their families, doctors, and nurses also share this environment, making the mental dimension of space profoundly important.
Through the power of architecture, he harnesses light, shadow, and spatial design with a human-centered approach. Every detail is shaped with care, placing compassion at the heart of the experience. He weaves a sense of warmth and attentiveness into every corner for patients, families, and medical professionals alike.
