Robin ChienTaipei

Taipei · Engineer · Operator · Host

Read deep. Run early.Eat well. Think ahead.

I’m Robin Chien. For twenty years I’ve built and run the physical systems large organisations depend on, from a semiconductor campus that grew out of an empty field to smart, energy-efficient workplaces. Off the clock I read seriously, run before the city wakes, and know exactly where to take you for dinner.

Walk through my day ↓What I think comes next →
Robin Chien in a red jacket, raising a glass in a field of golden grass
TAIPEIRobin is probably reading.
Drag the sun through my day.
  1. 05:30Run
  2. 07:00Read
  3. 09:00Think
  4. 12:30Lunch
  5. 19:00Dinner
  6. 21:30Drink

The short version

Engineer by training. Operator by trade.

More about me
  1. 012004–2015Engineering researchEleven years at the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. Led a department and worked on building information modelling.
  2. 022015–2018TSMC, TaichungRan campus services while an advanced-node campus went from bare ground to more than 10,000 people in three years.
  3. 032018–nowGoogle, TaiwanWorkplace services through a period of fast growth, with a focus on smart buildings and energy efficiency.
  4. 04AlwaysStill learningPh.D. in civil engineering (NCTU). Executive programme at NTU. MIT Sloan certificates in sustainability and AI strategy.
20+years building and running physical systems
10,000people on a campus that began as an empty field
~100books on a numbered list, each read for one rule
37tables in Taipei I’d book for a visiting executive

Want to know me better?

Walk through my day.

Five doors, each at its hour. The open one is roughly where I am right now.

NOW IN TAIPEI05:30Run
05:30Run

Before the city wakes

How I train, my go-to run, and eleven more from your hotel.

Walk in →
NOW IN TAIPEI07:00Read
07:00Read

Morning pages

The books I reread, and the one rule I took from each.

Walk in →
GRID CONNECTION FIRST SITE MEMO · PAGE 1substation · feeder · date N 0 50 100 m
NOW IN TAIPEI09:00Think
09:00Think

Thinking ahead

AI, power and buildings, and six calls I’m on record with.

Walk in →
NOW IN TAIPEI19:00Eat
19:00Eat

Where I’d take you

37 tables for a visiting executive, each with a taxi card.

Walk in →
NOW IN TAIPEI21:30Drink
21:30Drink

After dark

Bars for finishing the conversation, and the best live jazz.

Walk in →

Swipe for the rest of the day →

Latest writing

Essays worth your coffee.

On the record

Calls I can be checked against.

Calls I’m on record with

“On time” means I still hold the view. If I change my mind, the call stays here, marked.

MadeCallDueStatus
Oct 2026InfrastructureIn Taiwan, the first page of every data-centre site memo will be about the substation, not the land price.Taoyuan counted about 624 MW of data-centre demand on roughly 50 hectares in July 2026. The land was the easy part.2027On time
Oct 2026EnergyNight becomes the new peak for Taiwan’s grid.AI loads run around the clock; solar doesn’t. Forecasts show night-time reserve margins below the 15% benchmark through 2029.2028On time
Oct 2026BuildingsMost energy savings in existing buildings will come from software laid over equipment already installed, not from replacing it.Field studies of thousands of buildings show median savings around 9% from fault detection software alone.2028On time

All six calls

In Taipei next week?

Tell me what the dinner is for. I’ll tell you where to book.

Open the food guide →Say hello on LinkedIn

Show this to your taxi driver

頤宮

台北市大同區承德路一段3號17樓（君品酒店）

Le Palais

Every place comes with one of these