Above: A recessed ceiling channel,
lighted with LEDs, abuts the site-
built glazing, making the spaces
seem taller than their 9 feet.
From Russia With Love
Thomas met partner Calvin Chen in architecture school at the UT and discovered
they shared a multicultural upbringing and an abiding interest in connecting the
dots of art, architecture, and other regional cultural traditions. Thomas grew up
in Belgium and worked in Chile, and Calvin was born in Taipei and moved to
Australia with his family. As they've grown since forming the company in 2001,
they've tended to add employees with diverse backgrounds, an eye to building an
international practice. Indeed, the influences fueling their architecture are decidedly
global. Although neither Bercy nor Chen is licensed, they employ architects on staff.
When Thomas and project designer Viraj Mehta (an Austin native of Indian her-
itage) began working on Richard's family house, they looked in part at the cultural
traditions of Mexico, where Richard's wife, Patricia, a graphic designer, was born.
Specifically, they boned up on midcentury Mexican architecture of 1950s and '60s.
And, in a typical Bercy Chen mashup, they also delved into the philosophies
of Russian polymath El Lissitzky, an interesting figure whose wide-ranging work
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