Tony Chi

Tony Chi is an American interior designer. He is the co-founder of New York-based design firm tonychi studio together with Tammy Chou.^[1]

Tony Chi
Born	Taipei, Taiwan
Nationality	American
Education	High School of Art and Design Fashion Institute of Technology
Occupation	Interior designer
Spouse	Tammy Chou

Early life and education

Chi was born in Taipei, Taiwan, the youngest of five children. He later moved to New York's Lower East Side at the age of six.^[2] He attended the High School of Art and Design and studied interior design at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).^[3]

Career

After graduating from FIT in 1984, Chi and his wife opened a Hunan-Sichuan restaurant, which later closed in 1996.

Chi got his start designing restaurants for Charles Morris Mount Design, and left to found his namesake studio in 1984 with wife Tammy Chou.^[4]

Following the stock market crash of 1987, Chi traveled abroad to create food and beverage concepts throughout Asia from Hong Kong to Jakarta.^[4] In Hong Kong, he met the real estate developer Allan Zeman and restaurateur Paul Hsu, and the trio started transforming the island's Lan Kwai Fong district into an entertainment destination, which was the start of his international career in design.^[5]

Chi later designed restaurants for chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Alain Ducasse and Michael Mina.^[6] Later, Chi began to expand his portfolio to include hotel interiors, from Santiago to Geneva, developing his signature "invisible design" aesthetic, or that which you do not necessarily see, but feel and perceive.^[7]

In 2019, Chi's daughter Alison Chi took lead as the head of creative development at his studio, with long-time associate Bill Paley as creative director and lead designer.

Notable projects

Notable hospitality projects in the tonychi studio portfolio include:

• Park Hyatt Shanghai (2008)^[8]
• W Santiago (2009)^[9]
• Andaz 5th Avenue New York (2010)
• Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow (2011)^[10]
• Grand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok (2012)
• Grand Hyatt Berlin (2013)
• InterContinental Geneva (2013)^[11]
• Mandarin Oriental Guangzhou (2013)^[12]
• Rosewood London (2013)^[13]
• Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills (2014)^[14]
• Grand Hyatt Chengdu (2016)^[15]
• Park Hyatt Washington (2006, 2017)^[16]
• Park Hyatt Kyoto (2019)
• Rosewood Hong Kong (2019)
• Andaz Shenzhen Bay (2021)
• The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel (2021)
• Grand Hyatt Gurgaon (2022)

Awards

Chi was inducted into Interior Design's Hall of Fame in 2009^[4] and awarded FIT's Lawrence Israel Prize in 2015.^[3]

References

1. Chi, Tony (16 March 2015). "Seeking Hospitality Outside Its Traditional Realm". New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
2. Bernstein, Fred. "Hotel Designer Tony Chi". Departures. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
3. Joseph, Alexander. "The Soul of a Space". Hue. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
4. "Tony Chi: 2009 Hall of Fame Inductee". Interior Design. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
5. "Interior Design".
6. Kristal, Marc. "Speaking From Experience". Metropolis. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
7. Lai Chow, Low. "Of Sublime Beauty and Sustainable Design: An Interview with Designer Tony Chi". Blouin Artinfo. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
8. "Park Hyatt Shanghai". Wallpaper*. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
9. Howard, Hilary. "New W Hotel In Santiago". New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
10. "Mr. Tripper is Back From... Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow". Blouin Artinfo. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
11. Werner, Laurie. "The Newest Top Hotel Suite In Geneva: High Style At $56,000 A Night". Forbes.com. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
12. Kellogg, Craig. "2013 BOY Winner: Foreign Hotel". Interior Design. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
13. Langley, Edwina. "Design hotspot: Rosewood London". Evening Standard. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
14. Shin, Nara (31 October 2014). "Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills". Cool Hunting. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
15. Lo, Rebecca. "Grand Hyatt Chengdu". Hospitality Design. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
16. Turrentine, Jeff. "Twist on Tradition". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 30 November 2006.