Architecture
Shih-Fu Peng
Born in Queens, New York, 1966, grew up in New York, Hawaii, Singapore, Tokyo and Taipei. Graduated with a Bachelors in Architecture from Cornell University in 1989 and a Masters in Architecture from Harvard University in 1992. Shih-Fu worked in New York City for various practices including Smith-Miller Hawkinson, Michael Graves and SOM.
While working he developed a competition practice with Roisin Heneghan participating in a wide range of architectural ideas competition, a common route for many young architects in New York to establish an independent practice.
Together they won a number of ideas competition and in 1999 were selected by the Architectural League of New York as one of the winners of the “Young Architects” competition – a portfolio competition open to designers ten years or less out of school which draws entries from around North America.
Contemporaneously with this speculative work, a programme of public works in Ireland opened opportunities for Architects to be selected through an open design competition. Heneghan and Peng participated in these competitions and won the open competition for the design of Kildare County Council Civic Office, now known as Aras Chill Dara.
Heneghan and Peng moved to Ireland to undertake the design and development work for the Civic Offices, working with Arthur Gibney and Partners. While developing a more building based practice, Heneghan and Peng continued to participate in open architectural design competitions and most notably won the competition for the Grand Egyptian Museum in 2003, still the largest international open architectural design competition for a built project, which will open later this year. Other open competition winning projects include the Giant’s Causeway Visitors’ Centre. Invited competition projects include the Palestinian Museum, Diamond Bridges at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London and the Stockwell Street building for the University of Greenwich in London.
Transitioning to a building based practice also opened up an engagement with existing buildings. Heneghan and Peng developed a masterplan for the National Gallery of Ireland and then went onto implement part of that masterplan in the refurbishment of the Historic Wings. Current work includes the Old Library redevelopment at Trinity College Dublin.
Heneghan and Peng have been awarded with the Aga Khan prize in Architecture for the Palestinian Museum and nominated for the RIBA Stirling prize for the Giant’s Causeway Visitors’ Centre and the Stockwell Street Building.
Shih-Fu Peng has been involved in selection committees for the McDowell residency programme in New Hampshire, on juries for the AAI awards and NY chapter of the AIA. He regularly participates in architectural reviews including recently at University of Limerick, Pratt and Columbia University and passionately believes in the importance of a continuing engaging with architectural education.