Singapore – DP Architects and its group of companies announced the appointment of Ms Angelene Chan as its Chairman and Mr Seah Chee Huang as its Chief Executive Officer, with effect 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. She heads DP’s in-house design advisory board that recommends improvements and solutions to design schemes produced across its 16 global offices. A believer in research as a powerful design driver, she established 10 typology research groups to deepen the practice’s design capabilities.
Ms Chan is the designer of the award-winning Sunray Headquarters, Wisma Atria façade transformation and Paya Lebar Quarter in Singapore. While serving as CEO, she continued to design and manage projects, many of them overseas including
Bonnevaux Meditation Centre in Poitiers, France; Urban Bricks in Changwon, South Korea; and Northbourne Avenue in Canberra, 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.
“I will oversee the group’s business development and corporate governance practices, and work closely with Mr Seah and the Board to chart DP’s growth and ensure that the group’s strategic development goals are met,” Angelene Chan, Chairman (DPA).
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 residents engagement. These projects include Singapore Sports Hub, Our Tampines Hub, the integrated community, sports and lifestyle hub; Goodlife! Makan, an elderly activity centre for stay-alone seniors; Heartware Network, a co-working place for a youth charity; and Bukit Canberra, the sports and community hub nestled in a park in Sembawang which will open this year. 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. He also served on the Board of Architects (2018-2020) and sits on several design advisory panels and committees for various agencies and design institutions. Mr Seah was recognised as one of the emerging architects in URA’s latest edition of 20 under 45.
“I am deeply honoured to be entrusted to lead this transformation,” said Seah Chee Huang, Chief Executive Officer (DPA).
