Edmund W. Chang of West Newton, Massachusetts age 64, passed away after a more than two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 64.
Ed was born to Chinese immigrants Nelson Chang (1923-2020) and Edith Chang (Hsi), and grew up in Scarsdale, New York, and Darien.
In 1980, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in urban studies and architecture from Northwestern University. After graduating, Ed worked as a designer for Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates before attending Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
At Harvard, he met fellow student Susan Sylligardos, and they married in 1989. After graduating from Harvard, Ed worked as a project architect at William Rawn & Associates, Richard Reid Architects, UK and Rafael Vinoly Architects, NY.
In 1990, Ed and GSD classmate Roger Sherman won a design competition for the West Hollywood Civic Center in Los Angeles. Their practice in Los Angeles, Edmund Chang and Roger Sherman Partners, was active from 1988 to 1992.
In addition, Ed taught as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Southern California from 1990 to 1995. In 1992, Ed and Susan founded Chang and Sylligardos Architects, and moved their practice to Boston in 1996. They settled in Auburndale, where their son, Alexander, was born in 1998. In Boston, the firm’s portfolio included residential and institutional projects at Harvard and MIT.
Projects at Harvard included designs for the Economics Department’s Opportunity Insights, the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, the Center for African Studies, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Dana Palmer House, Gutman Library, and the University’s Math and Graduate Arts and Sciences programs.
In Newton, he designed City Hall’s Millennium Park, served on the Newton2000 Architecture and Urban Design Committee, and helped establish the Auburndale Historic District Commission. Ed and Susan moved to West Newton in 2010.
Ed was an avid squash, tennis, and golf player. He served for many years as a board member of the Newton Squash and Tennis Club and was an active member of the Neighborhood Club of West Newton.
He loved traveling, cooking, and good Asian cuisine. After retiring in 2021, Ed continued to pursue his passion for design by working on a number of personal architectural projects.
He is survived by his wife, Susan Sylligardos; his son, Alexander Chang of Washington, D.C.; his mother, Edith Chang of Palo Alto, California; his sister, Phyllis Chang (Riccardo Gusella) of Mercer Island, Washington; his brother, Laurence Chang (Michele Chang) of Denver; and nephews Stephen Chang of Austin, Texas, and Harrison Chang of Denver; his uncle, Yi-Chuan Ching of Honolulu; a large extended family in the United States, Canada and New Zealand; and many wonderful friends.
A celebration of Ed’s life for friends and family will be held in the fall. The family is grateful to the excellent medical professionals at Mass-General Brigham, Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Newton Wellesley Hospital.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Chang and Sylligardos Family Fund for The MGCC (Mass. General Cancer Center) at Newton-Wellesley Infusion Center, Newton-Wellesley Hospital Development Office, 2014 Washington St., Newton, MA 02462, (617) 243-6243, nwhdev@partners.org.
— an obituary from George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where online condolences may be left