About

Chije [Jee·Hye] [Ji·Hye] [Ji·Hae]

From Kor. 지헤.

1. n. Spanish spelled Korean given name. 37th experimentation by Korean immigrant couple based in the northern of Catalonia in the 20th Century. Originated after frustated attempts on correct pronunciation by local Spanish neighbors. 

Chije is a Korean-Spanish architect and visual designer born and raised in a little town in the Mediterranean. The multicultural environment she originated from, has been integral in defining her own aesthetic and architectural inclinations.

After earning valuable experience working with FAD award holders BOPBAA Arquitectes (Oriol Bohigas, Iñaki Baquero and Francesc Pla) in Barcelona, Chije reallocated to New York, where she had the opportunity to build on her previous training, attaining new skills and working on an international basis. Her mentors Amale Andraos and Dan Wood were integral in establishing her architectural career in New York. Through her work with Andraos and Wood, Chije was able to collaborate on various scale projects, ranging from artistic and institutional, to utopical designs such as the 3.C. City, a synergy between WORKac and the Avant-Garde San Francisco collective Ant Farm for the Chicago Architectural Biennial.

2. adj. Interpolation or experimentation intertwining different realms and modes. Construction of alternative visualization.

*The meaning of 지헤 differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 46 hanja with the reading "ji" and 16 hanja with the reading "hye" on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be used in given names. When written in the most common way in hanja (智慧), this name means "wisdom" [source], when written as the Spanish version "Chije" means experimental, disruptive and fun.

After working at Handel Architects, focusing on residential and mixed-use towers based in New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Atlanta, Chije co-founded VilaKang along with Paula Vilaplana, an experimental creative practice that explores the role of architecture in new media and performative environments. Latest collaborations include artists and designers such as The Juan Maclean, Gee Dee (Gregory Droggitis), Andres Jaque and Noa Santos.

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