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DP personalities
TOH O An interview with
SZE CHONG SHOK WAN
IN PERSON celebrates the firm’s diversity by profiling members of the DP family. It is conducted as a casual conversation between two individuals, one in a senior position in the firm and one from the trenches.
Toh Sze Chong
Interview by Toh Bee Ping
Ho Shok Wan
From his sprightly gait and sporty Puma glasses, to his healthy choices at lunch, Senior Associate Director Toh Sze Chong is every bit the fitness enthusiast he is said to be. Associate Ho Shok Wan, in her fashionable outfit of cropped jacket and jodhpur pants, gives off the impression of an energetic and plucky girl. Toh and Shok Wan are seemingly different in every way - age, gender and dispositions. What they have in common is immense work load and the ability to balance that with pursuits outside the office. Design in Print chats with them over lunch about what makes them tick.
Tell us a little about yourself and your experience at DP.
“Being relaxed and having mental clarity definitely helps creative work” - Toh Sze Chong
HSW: My association with DP began during my student years as a temp during school vacations. Upon my graduation in 2005, I joined our Beijing office. After two years, I took sabbatical leave to attend the University of Tokyo for a research programme in Urban Planning and to learn the Japanese language for a year and half. I now sit at DP Green.
TSC: I joined DP in late 1991. Before completing the RWS Universal Studios theme park, I worked on the Dubai Mall project, traveling frequently to the Emirates for a stretch of two weeks to two months each time. Things quieten down when the Dubai economy took a turn for the worse. The completion of The Dubai Mall also meant less traveling for me. But things are getting hectic again with the Doha mall project.
How do you spend your time outside of work? HSW: It’s important for me to have creative pursuits outside of work. Last year I took part in a design competition in Japan. It was organised by Dezeen, an online design magazine. My entry was an art-installation featuring a vending machine that dispenses luxury brand goods. It is my comment on mass consumerism, a way of poking fun at