“Visiting CHENHOW MARBLE feels like a treasure hunt—where a single stone can shift the course of an entire design. Each slab speaks with its own power. When placed just right, it yields a value that rivals, or even surpasses, pure art.”
— Alan Yu, Design Director
Shang Yih Interior Design
Walking into a space feels like encountering different personalities—some vibrant, others quiet and reflective. Such is the invisible bond between spatial design and the human experience. Nearly three decades ago, Shang Yih Design Director Alan Yu was grounded in a rigorous fine arts education. He later bridged the gap between graphic art and interior design. “Seeing a flat drawing transformed into a three-dimensional reality for the first time was an indescribable feeling of fulfillment,” he reflects. From a solitary venture in the early days to today’s team of more than thirty specialists, his journey has spanned a quarter-century.
《隅光藝所》—— Bridging Art and Living with Luxury Stone
Much like Kengo Kuma, the renowned Japanese architect whom Alan Yu deeply admires—famous for his "anti-object" architecture that respects natural materials, honors traditional craftsmanship, and roots design firmly in local terroir—Yu has made multiple pilgrimages to Japan to study the master’s works. “Starting from the Stone Museum, I came to realize that architecture touches the soul because it belongs uniquely to that piece of land, bound to its environment by an inseparable connection.” For Yu, interior design holds the same potential for lasting influence on daily life: “This realization has been a driving force that continually leads me deeper into the craft.”
A home is intimately entwined with its owner’s life story and spirit. Striking a seamless balance between quiet elegance and luxury remains a designer’s ultimate challenge. Having spent half a lifetime exploring this question, Alan Yu has cultivated a unique design philosophy—one that transcends the mere label of “Quiet Luxury.” Instead, he orchestrates a dialogue between materials, discovering a refined beauty where tension and harmony coexist. He believes that only by accurately capturing the inhabitant’s personal narrative can a designer, much like a novelist, craft a space that becomes a book of life—one turned to every single day, yet never growing tired.
《隅光藝所》, winner of the 2024 Luxury Stone Award hosted by CHENHOW MARBLE, stands as a defining masterpiece of Shang Yih’s “Quiet Luxury” philosophy. Beyond the residence lies the northern suburban landscape of Tianmu’s Huangxi Stream—a rare urban waterway originating from Mount Qixing in the Datun Volcano Group that offers a serene connection to nature. The defining challenge of the design was seamlessly weaving the seasonal dance of natural light and mountain views into an interior dialogue, while simultaneously fulfilling the homeowner’s desire for a refined, boutique hotel-inspired aesthetic.
The focal feature wall, originally envisioned as a display for art collectibles, was intended to evoke a refined simplicity with beige textured plaster and titanium-coated shelving. Yet during a visit to CHENHOW MARBLE, a rare slab of “Alpinus” completely reshaped the vision. “The moment I laid eyes on it, I was captivated by the stunning green crystals embedded within the stone.” Guided by this instant connection, he chose the magnificent slab to anchor the space. The emerald-green crystals serve as a captivating artwork in their own right, echoing a serene, bud-shaped vase nearby. Its star-like quartz veins seem to honor a billion-year-old promise, blooming gracefully in this very moment.
In the guest powder room, another fateful encounter came in the form of a luxury stone named “嫦娥” A substantial, freestanding vanity is horizontally intersected by a slender countertop, giving the illusion of floating gracefully in midair. Working with this white marble veined in deep ink, Alan Yu approached the design like a sculptor, balancing structural weight with effortless lightness. Paired with a modern, full-moon lighting fixture, the ensemble casts a ethereal silhouette evoking the legend of soaring toward the moon. “We happened to select this stone together with the homeowner on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival,” Yu smiles. “Finding the right stone is just like meeting the right person—and every visit to CHENHOW MARBLE reinforces that feeling.”
For the primary bathroom vanity, the selection fell upon “BELATRIX.” Its veining flows like fluid oil brushstrokes, inviting one to run a hand over its organic, tactile texture and gently feel the quiet, refined energy within. “Marble is the finest medium bridging art and living,” Alan Yu notes. He adds that the homeowner’s keen artistic sensibility allowed the soft furnishings to dialogue seamlessly with the stone. Fusing these elements into a singular, cohesive narrative presented the most captivating challenge of crafting this riverside retreat. To honor nature’s creation, he even repurposed offcuts of “BELATRIX” and “Alpinus” into an island feature pedestal and a side table, gracefully integrating natural artistry into everyday functional objects.
“The founder of CHENHOW MARBLE frequently travels directly to quarries, engaging with the authentic structure of the stone firsthand to select the finest materials for Taiwan. This level of dedication and exploration naturally deepens our trust in the brand as designers.”
— Alan Yu
Knowing What to Let Go: The Art of Design and Business.
“Interior design goes beyond aesthetics; it is about crafting life experiences.” Beyond luxury stone, Alan Yu selected Salvatori limestone for his personal residence. Upon close inspection, its surface features subtle, weathered indentations that evoke a raw, organic warmth. In《隅光藝所》, the same limestone anchors the TV wall, where its texturing mirrors the delicate folds of a stage curtain, illusioning raw stone into fluid silk.
For discerning clients with rich life experiences who often own multiple properties, personal tastes are sharply defined. Thus, precise communication and meticulous task division form the foundation of trust at Shang Yih. In recent years, the firm has refined its structure, stepping away from taking on every project for revenue alone to focus exclusively on those aligned with its core values. This deliberate choice has allowed the team to pour complete dedication into each creation while earning deeper client trust in return. Today, Shang Yih integrates dedicated departments for design, engineering, interior decor, and management, providing specialized expertise across every stage.
Taiwan remains the true homeland for these high-net-worth homeowners. Naturally, they hold deep emotional ties to the residences they entrust to a designer, yet they long for a refined elevation and subtle transformation of their lifestyle. A question Alan Yu constantly reflects upon is: “How should we define their homes here in Taiwan?” A truly great design should unlock possibilities and deliver surprises far beyond a client’s initial imagination. Many clients return to Shang Yih for counsel when considering their next property—and even if a purchase is paused and a project unrealized, a deep sense of trust is cemented. This philosophy of giving freely has broadened the vision of Alan Yu’s luxury residential team, allowing them to see a much grander horizon in design.
Epilogue
A decade into his entrepreneurial journey, Alan Yu contemplated walking away, even seriously considering opening a breakfast diner to reset his disrupted pace of life. What anchored him and pushed him forward was not only the resolve to decline mismatched projects, but also the transformative works of artists Hsu Yung-Hsu and Cynthia Sah. Their creative energy—redefining raw materials and breathing new life into art—served as a profound revelation. Look at life from a different perspective, Yu offered himself a quiet smile as he reflected on that turning point. Today, his subtle humanistic spirit is fully embodied in his personal residence, "Yu House." It is serene and understated, yet effortless in its grandeur—a quality that makes both the man and his space intimately welcoming.
