Our studio is driven by a collective curiosity for what it means to be human. As designers and creative problem-solvers, we are in search of meaningful ways of shaping our shared experience in the built environment.
We value design as a tool not only for addressing practical challenges but also for speculating on what’s possible and proposing new narratives for the way we engage with the world and empathetically with one another.
We engage in design across scales & contexts - asking how can design help cultivate a sense of place and activate multiple scales of community?
Our Process
A design project of any scale can be a complex and daunting task.
We are here to make the process of translating abstract ideas into tangible realities constructive, enjoyable, and rewarding for you, whether you are an individual homeowner or community organization.
We approach all projects, large and small, with a similar outlook:
We listen, working closely with you to define your needs & visions.
We research & reflect, placing projects in dialogue with their wider ecological & sociocultural context.
We reimagine, viewing each project as a unique opportunity to evolve and adapt convention.
We synthesize, amplifying your ambitions into compelling concepts that will endure to provide lasting value.
We collaborate, fostering strong communication between all of the voices involved in every project.
Who We Are
Studio Becker Xu, PLLC is a Chicago-based architecture and design studio led by Sharon Xu and Robert Becker. Sharon and Robert met while designing at Princeton School of Architecture. Their collaboration brings together complementary backgrounds in architecture - Sharon’s systematic thinking and creative problem-solving from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Robert’s adept understanding of craft and assembly from University of Illinois Chicago - to form a multi-faceted approach to design.
After working professionally in Los Angeles following graduate school, they moved back to the Midwest to form their creative practice, informed by over a decade of collective experience from architectural design offices in Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seoul. In addition to their practice, they are educators at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois Chicago.
Let’s Chat!
Sharon Xu:
︎ sharon@studiobeckerxu.com
Robert Becker:
︎ robert@studiobeckerxu.com
General:
︎ 314-795-9263
︎ info@studiobeckerxu.com
︎ @studio.beckerxu
︎3020 N Waterloo Ct #3
Chicago, IL 60657