TEAM SPIRIT
DP Architects’ Koh Seow Chuan and Angelene Chan believe an uplifting company culture can work wonders
In july, dp architects ceo Angelene Chan became the first woman architect to be named Designer of the Year at the prestigious President’s Design Award (PDA). She received her trophy from Singapore’s first female president, Halimah Yacob. Angelene’s family shared this memorable moment with her at the awards ceremony held at the Istana. Later in the evening, her DP family was on hand to fete the occasion at the official PDA after-party. “By the time I got to the party, it was already 11pm. What was wonderful was that 50 people from the office were there waiting for me with flowers,” she shares with us, beaming at the memory. “I wasn’t expecting that, and it was a wonderful way to celebrate.” That is just one example of the close-knit culture that has been painstakingly cultivated at this 51-year-old architectural firm that has shaped so much of Singapore’s cityscape. As co-founder and senior consultant Koh Seow Chuan puts it when we ask him to sum up his management philosophy: “Firstly, we want everyone to be happy and healthy, so that they can be the best that they can be. Coming to work should uplift your spirits.” Angelene chuckles when we ask if this is pretty much an anti-starchitect culture. Her take: “Every Dpian matters. We believe that if we take good care of our people, they’ll do their very best in return. Nurturing our people means a lot to us.” Find out more about their efforts to keep this culture going in this month’s cover story on p.164.