Maria Xia Chen is a New Zealand architect and a former co-chair of Architecture + Women NZ.

[1][3] Chen joined Athfield Architects and her first project was to lead the re-fit of the former Commerce building at the University of Canterbury.

The building was designed by Athfield Bellerby Vial and opened in 1996, but the earthquakes had caused severe damage and it required extensive repairs.

[3] The building was renamed Rehua and reopened in 2019 to house the university's College of Education.

[7] The project also won a Resene Total Colour Residential Interior Award.