DP Architects Announces New Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

©DP Architects

Text provided by DP Architects

DP Architects and its group of companies announce the appointment of Ms. Angelene Chan as its Chairman and Mr. Seah Chee Huang as its Chief Executive Officer, effective from 1 February 2021. This new appointment is part of the leadership renewal and continuity plan for the 1000-strong multidisciplinary design practice, as it moves into its next phase of growth.

Ms. Chan, the outgoing CEO, will take over as Chairman from Mr Francis Lee who will assume the position of Senior Director and advisor. During Ms Chan’s five-year tenure as CEO, she consolidated DP’s strategic growth from a group of architecture-led specialist companies to an integrated multidisciplinary practice. She widened the home-grown practice’s international reach to Europe, South Korea and Australia.

A practising architect with over three decades of experience, Ms Chan was the recipient of the President’s Designer of the Year Award in 2018. An influential leader in the built environment sector, she sits on the board of Urban Redevelopment Authority, Board of Architects, Professional Engineers Board and Sentosa Development Corporation. She is also the Vice Chairman of Dover Park Hospice.

“Our number one agenda is to evolve our design and delivery capabilities, and acquire new competencies to facilitate our business growth at the right pace. One of DP’s strengths is our position to leverage the expertise and resources of our global network, so we will continue to develop better ways to share information and collaborate more effectively,” says Ms. Chan.

Mr Seah, 46, joined DP Architects in 2003 and has been a director since 2013. In recent years, he has built a strong portfolio of inclusive and complex community and sports projects designed to invigorate our urban and social landscapes, where he was actively involved in multi-stakeholders and resident’s engagement. Mr Seah heads DP Architects’ DesignGroup, which focuses on enhancing design innovation, and is one of the key drivers of DP’s design research initiatives.

An active member of the architecture community, Mr Seah sits on the council of the Singapore Institute of Architects since 2010; he was elected as its president from 2018 to 2020, during which he led the development of the Industry Transformation Map for the architecture profession.

“We are living in extraordinary times, with the confluence of a pandemic, global economic uncertainties and climate degradation. These challenges also present us with tremendous opportunities for progress. Now is our moment to transform by design – harnessing the immense potential of digitalisation, our repertoire of typology expertise and international presence – to grow DP’s strength in integrated design and delivery, especially in the pursuit of more sustainable and healthier architecture,” says Mr Seah.

About DP Architects
DP Architects is a leading multidisciplinary design practice in Asia with 1,000 staff in 16 global offices strategically linked from Shanghai to London, and 8 specialist companies providing a range of services from architecture and urban planning to engineering, sustainable design, interior, façade and landscape design. Founded in 1967, it has built a deep portfolio of works including People’s Park Complex, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Our Tampines Hub, Sengkang Hospital Campus and Paya Lebar Quarters. From Singapore, the ideas and techniques of the firm have since expanded to projects across 77 countries.