Eugene Tssui Brings His Futuristic Visions to an Emeryville Residency

Eugene Tssui loves to feel like a kid again.

A man of many talents, Tssui (pronounced “sway”) established himself as an innovative and eco-focused architect in the ’90s, creating Bay Area fixtures such as the “Fish House” in Berkeley and the remodeled kitchen of the Flintstone House in Hillsborough.

Not one to limit himself to a single discipline, he’s also made a name for himself as a painter and fashion designer (a sparkly purple space-like suit is one of his signature looks). He’s competed in gymnastics and boxing, and, at 70, he just started wrestling. He’s also a composer, pianist, flamenco guitarist and drummer.

“The whole retiring mentality? No. You have to keep going,” he says.

Currently, Tssui is the 2025 Architect/Artist in Residence for the City of Emeryville, with a career-spanning retrospective on view at Bay Street plaza through March 30. The project is part of the Rotten City Cultural District, developed by the California Arts Council, which seeks to advance Emeryville’s creative scene. As part of the residency, Tssui is dreaming up a self-sufficient, “true-zero” energy building for the city that he hopes will one day become a reality.

Inside the Rotten City Cultural District gallery on Bay Street, Tssui offers a peek into his world of climate solutions through unconventional design. Tssui designs buildings entirely based on nature, from the exterior composition to their inner workings. The result is like something out of a sci-fi movie — a sole structure that perseveres through some post-apocalyptic scene, bending and breathing with the elements. It is in these other worlds where his mind lives.

Working with, not against, nature

Tssui came to the Bay Area in 1983 to attend UC Berkeley for his master’s and PhD studies. He fell in love with California’s natural coastline and the Bay Area’s reputation as an innovation hub, and he wanted to contribute to that innovation outside of just technology.

He focuses on the concept of “nature as teacher,” designing buildings, clothing and even furniture based on organic sources. His goal is to structurally and functionally work with nature rather than resisting it. The “Fish House,” formally titled Ojo del Sol, which Tssui designed for his parents in 1994, was modeled after the microscopic tardigrade, known for its extreme durability.

He’s created several hundred intricately detailed, nature-based designs for unrealized buildings, including a two-mile-high skyscraper for San Francisco based on a termite mound and intended to house one million people. For decades, Tssui’s biology-based approach was not widely accepted.

“I feel like, gee, I’m just a lone voice in the wilderness,” says Tssui. “All it takes is one first voice and things start happening. If that’s what I’m going to be, then so be it.”

However, Tssui says he’s now hosted over 500 interns who seek him out specifically for his independent way of thinking. His work has become more iconic with age and the progression of climate issues. The modern green building movement, which seeks to combine nature into design and transcend net-zero carbon goals, follows closely behind Tssui, who has delved into these concepts for his entire career.

“I really feel like my career is just beginning because with climate change and global warming, suddenly my work becomes totally relevant,” he says.

Tssui believes that conventional architectural efforts fail to minimize the effects of climate change, as these buildings are often unnatural, inefficient and structurally unreliable.

“Nature itself never creates a box,” he explains. “It is such a terrible geometric form that has no strength, no ability to resist stress and strain. And here we are doing nothing but boxes.”

Tssui’s vision for Emeryville

Tssui’s nonconformist art currently sits in a large, rectangular space on the first floor of the Bay Street plaza, filled to the brim with his work. Over a hundred sketches, hand-painted portraits, images of constructed buildings and architectural blueprints line the walls.

Some of Tssui’s building designs are commissioned by clients, others are for himself. The majority serve as futuristic fantasies, too advanced for the limitations of city planning departments.

Only six of his designs have ever been built, with two currently pending in Mount Shasta. One is a remodel of a home in the area. The other is a personal project of Tssui’s — an underground athletic training and scientific research facility. The building is designed as a bio-conscious amalgamation of Charlie Chaplin’s film studio, Thomas Edison’s laboratory and the Olympic Training Center. Sketches for both projects, from the rough drafts to their final components, are available for public viewing.

To complete his residency, Tssui plans to design a building for an actual empty plot of land in Emeryville. He’s waiting on the city planning department to provide the plot’s dimensions before he can fully develop the project, which he envisions as a “true-zero” energy building that would include an athletic facility, auditorium, vegan food court and rooftop garden.

“If [Emeryville is] serious about addressing the accelerating destruction of the planet, and architecture is 45% of that, then you will move forward with this project,” he asserts.

At 70, still reinventing

To understand Eugene Tssui is to take in the full scope of his multihyphenate practice, well beyond his architectural designs. His interdisciplinary exhibit on Bay Street also includes portraits of loved ones, abstract ceramics and books of his work.

Samples of his fashion pieces suspended by poles divide areas of the gallery. Most of these pieces are variations on a bright, monochrome suit with a high collar and strategically placed openings. He says these qualities allow for natural heating and cooling of the body, while also enhancing mobility. For one cape-like ensemble, Tssui used a silver, reflective material with gold accents, which serves as insulation, absorbing light and minimizing the heat going back into the atmosphere.

Then there’s his musical and athletic achievements. In one image, Tssui performs a perfect handstand and splits at the Senior Olympics. In another, he stands triumphantly in his boxing attire as an eight-time amateur boxing champion. Learning new crafts throughout his life has engaged his childlike curiosity and maintained his passion.

For Tssui, everything on display is interconnected. The endurance and self-determination he’s honed through sports and music are apparent in the intricate details of his drawings and textile work. Through his architecture and fashion designs, he shows that biology can easily be applied to other fields of study.

Despite these broader concepts, Tssui’s goal for the residency is simple. He hopes his life serves as inspiration to others. This is what people can achieve if they pursue their passions and create their own lanes. Tssui is someone who has built a career defying the boxes we often put ourselves in.

“Your sense of self-value is so important,” he says. “These things that I do bring me a sense of self-value and meaning and purpose in being alive to the world, and I want to share that with you.”