Albert Yaying XU

… is my beloved grandfather.
This page (in construction) is where I’ll gather information, press links, and all kinds of updates dedicated to him — until we’re able to get his Wikipedia page up and running and build a proper website to serve as a memorial page.

Because beyond being a remarkably passionate and talented human being, I want the world to know just how much his humanity, spirit, and sense of humor lit up this world.

He wasn’t just a brilliant acoustician — he was also a generous, loving, and comforting family man, right up to the end of his life.

He and his wife Anne Xu were quite the duo: full of life, jokes, and tenderness. He was the best grandfather I could have ever had. It’s him who taught me how to draw, how to see things differently, how to open my ears, my mind AND my heart.

Anyway, I’ll let you discover more for yourself.

Feel free to leave a comment below to share any memories you have of him by sending my a message here.

BIO

Albert Yaying XU was an renowned architectural acoustician. He passed away in December 2023.

XU was born in Tianjin in 1934 with ancestral roots in Suzhou and currently taught at the Department of Architecture of Tsinghua University, where he studied under LIANG Si-chung.

He also received guidance from acousticians MA Da-you and Dr. Leo BERANEK, a celebrated American scholar. Devoted to the study of architectural acoustics since 1957, XU carried out the acoustics design and research for the establishment of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, China.

He conducted the test for the 1:10 scale acoustic model of the opera house as early as in 1958, undertook the research on the importance of early reflections to the sound quality of opera houses, and sought solutions on how to mitigate the acoustic deficiency of the VIP seating in the middle of the auditorium.

He was later invited by the French Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) to conduct research on concert hall acoustics.

He founded Xu-Acoustique in Paris in 1987 and served as a consultant on architectural acoustics, providing solutions to the acoustic design of high-level international venues.

He has established long-term partnerships with various internationally renowned architects, including I. M. PEI, Frank O. GEHRY, Christian de PORTZAMPARC, Ricardo BOFILL, and Paul ANDREU; he also maintains close relationships with many musicians and conductors.

He was awarded the Best Technical Consultant Award in 1995 and the Grand Silver Medal for Research and Technique in 2004 from the Académie d'architecture.