Alistair Irving Chang Assoc AIA, RMAIC, LEED GA, M.Arch, OAA Intern Architect
Born: Toronto, Canada
Location: Los Angeles, California
Education: Master of Architecture, M.Arch - Savannah College of Art & Design
Environmental Design, AOCA - Ontario College of Art & Design
Professional Affiliations: American Institute of Architects - Associate Member
US Green Building Council - LEED Green Associate
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada - Member
Ontario Association of Architects - Intern Architect
My creative journey has brought me from sculpture to furniture, from interiors to architecture. I see not a transition but a co-mingling. A breakdance of moves and collision of styles, materials, and random intersections. It's an improv of form and colour, light and shadow. Like the Baroque style, one respects the past yet utilizes its elements to create and expand the rules and boundaries into something fresh and new. I am fundamentally driven to satisfy this and every other curiosity. I am foremost an artist, a subtractive sculptor of wood and marble, seeing the unseen. I draw from the human form and capture light & shadow. Similar to how it shapes and carves out space, sets tonality, and choreographs movement in architecture. Materiality and construction should be celebrated, not hidden, to accentuate texture, pattern, and repetition and tell the story in its language of how it came to fruition.
My path reveals a random development of ideas in an exploration of material and form. In 2004, he officially launched Oehm Design at the IMM Cologne in Germany. Following the success of the show he then began curating Canadian design talent abroad working closely with Ontario Exports Inc to promote and increase visibility of local designers to an international audience. I opened a prototype design co-op called Sweat Shop shortly thereafter. In 2006, I relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in architecture. I have since rediscovered a dormant love for the carved object, both in wood and marble. I continues to create in various arenas of design.
As an artist I am embarking on an investigation to expose one's voices of insistence. To explore the dynamics of the human soul, and seeks to create deeply emotional work while celebrating technical prosiest and the tactile quality of the carved object. Each piece reveals itself through meticulous hands that choreograph every blow from the mantel to the chisel. I employ a collection of handmade carving instruments such as files, rasps, riflers, mallets and various chisels.
Awards
2024 Built Design Award - Architectural Design in Social Housing
2024 Chair's Thesis Achievement Award
2024 Architecture Masterprize - Social Housing - Honorable Mention
2023 LIV Hospitality Design Awards - Midscale Hotel Winner
2023 International Design Awards (IDA Awards) GOLD - Religious Architecture
2023 International Design Awards (IDA Awards) Honorable Mention - Cultural Pavilion
2023 Architecture Masterprize - Architecture Hospitality - WINNER
2023 Architecture Masterprize - Architecture Cultural - Honorable Mention
2023 Architecture Masterprize - Architecture Other - Honorable Mention
2023 International Architecture & Design Awards GOLD - Architecture Hospitality Concept
2022 International Design Awards (IDA Awards) GOLD - Hotel/Resort
2022 International Design Awards (IDA Awards) SILVER - Mixed-Use
2021 Scottish Design Award Finalist
2019 Kartell Museo Competition - 2nd Place
2004 Inspired by Cologne - IMM Cologne - Shortlist & Exhibition
2005 Best Exhibit Design - Salone Satellite, Milan Furniture Fair
2008 Outdoor Seating Concept - Honourable Mention
Urban Landscapes Competition - Honourable Mention
Outstanding Achievement in Art Award
Excellence in Art Award
Group Exhibitions
Art Basel Miami Satellite - Miami 2010
Salone Satellite 05 - Milan 2005
Prototype - Toronto 2004
Team Canada - Toronto 2004
Designers Block - London 2004
Design Downtown - New York 2004
ASE Design Centre - Taipei 2004
Aftertaste - Toronto 2004
IDS 04 - Studio North - Toronto 2004
Inspired by Cologne - Cologne (koln) 2004
SpeakEasy - Toronto 2002
Tyndale College & Seminary - Toronto 2002
Under the Chair Project - Toronto 2000