Alfred H. Liu collection

Object Details

Content Description
Materials from the architecture practice of the late Alfred H. Liu (1942-2021), founder and president of AEPA Architects Engineers, P.C.
Biographical / Historical
Alfred H. Liu (1942-2021) was a noted architect, advocate for Chinatown neighborhood preservation and economic development (in New York City and Washington, DC especially, but also nationally), and the founder and president of the DC-headquartered firm, AEPA Architects Engineers, P.C. Born in Chongqing, China in 1942 and raised in Taiwan, his artistic talents—particularly at painting—were recognized at a young age and his parents sent him to study with renowned Chinese artist and poet, Pu Xinyu. Mr. Liu came to the United States in 1961. He received his B.A. in Physics & Mathematics from Aquinas College (1965), an M.A. in Physics from Columbia University (1967), and a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) from Columbia University (1971). He became a member of the American Institute of Architects in 1975, was eventually registered to practice architecture in 12 states across the U.S., and started his own firm—AEPA Architects Engineers, P.C.—in 1976. Among his best-known projects are: Washington, DC's Chinese Friendship Archway (the largest single-span Chinese archway in the world), the 153-unit Wah Luck House low/moderate- income apartment building in DC's Chinatown, the Chinatown Design Guidelines Study (completed in 1982 and which still dictates development requirements and streetscape standards in DC's Chinatown), the designed/proposed (but never completed) Far East Trade Center in DC's Chinatown, the 32,000-square-foot China National Life Science Center (Beijing, China), and various National Institutes of Health facilities in the greater Washington, DC area, among many others. Alfred Liu served in innumerable leadership and advisory roles for organizations, city governments, federal arts/humanities initiatives, and political organizations, including on Washington, DC Mayor Marion Barry's Official Trade Delegation to China (1984), as co-founder of Mayor Marion Barry's District of Columbia Downtown Partnership, on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) "Expansion Arts" Panel (1974-1976), as President of the Chinatown Development Corporation (1984-1996), as a member of the Chinatown Steering Committee (1983-2021), on the Greater Washington Board of Trade's Community Development Committee (1982-1994), as a technical advisor to the District of Columbia's Comprehensive Plan (1979-1983), and much else.
Date
1960-2021
Extent
20.09 Linear feet (6 archival boxes, oversize materials, oversize folders)
Rights
The Alfred H. Liu collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
Citation
Alfred H. Liu collection, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Amerasia Liu.
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Topic
Architectural rendering
Architectural drawing -- 20th century -- United States
Chinese American architects
Place
Chinatown (Washington, D.C.)
Identifier
ACMA.06-149
Finding aid
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