About Charles Tang
Charles Tang is the founder and creative director of this internationally acclaimed design firm – Charles Tang Design, who has achieved award winning designs for major cities in Dubai, China and Australia.
His design philosophy is “His work comes from his heart”, and “Tailor Made” principle touches each part of a customer’s lives enriching how they work, play, learn, shop and heal.
Prior to 2011, he collaborated with ZahaHadid and Helmut Jahn on projects as retail and mixed use design expert in Dubai from Sydney Australia.
He was the design consultant for Saunders Global Sydney, RTKL Beijing and Haskoll Beijing.
Charles also worked within a global design team, collaborated with former Disney & Universal Studio designers on Cinematic attraction and Theme Park attractions in China for Wanda Property Group.
Charles has published various articles such as “The great healthy City Urban MasterplanParanville Tasmania” for Australian Property Review and “Experience Design” with Property Estate Frontiers, “Relationships between spaces and culture” by professional architectural magazine such as a+a.
He was also voted and interviewed as the Urban Designer of the year 2014-15 by a+a
He is also nominated by UTS as the Australia China Alumni Award for corporation achievements 2015.
Charles has been awarded two major awards from Asia Pacific Design Competition 2018, which is organized by Hong Kong Indoor Designer Association and Asia Pacific Designer’s competition committee, from total 2968 entries from various countries such as United States, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and China, Charles has won The 2018 Asia Pacific Designer Excellence Award from the People’s award category and The Golden award for Retail / Commercial Design of the Creative design category.
He’s also been invited as a VIP guest speaker representing top Australian designers at Asia Pacific Designer’s Forum.
Design Principles
An exceptional design is a design that incorporates local uniqueness, which is specific to the place and has a strong influence on our lifestyles.
Education
1996-2002 Studied Architecture, UTS
2000 Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, UTS
2002 Bachelor of Architecture, UTS
Charles Tang
Creative Director | Founder
Sean Lee, Registered Architect
Sean is a registered architect in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, and a Class 2 Design Practitioner. He led master planning, medium- and high-density residential developments, high-rise mixed-use office towers, hospitals and healthcare clinics.
Sean is known for his integrity, tireless work ethic and ability to inspire the people around him. He champions a collaborative culture that lets architects work across projects, building creativity, growth and a stronger sense of purpose, and developing well-rounded, future-focused designers.
His design approach is grounded in clarity, context and meaningful spatial experience. He brings a refined eye for proportion, materiality and urban integration, and a deep understanding of how buildings shape, and are shaped by, the people who use them. From intimate homes to large-scale urban frameworks, he balances conceptual thinking with practical detail to create responsive, enduring architecture.
Education and Registration
Master of Architecture, University of Technology Sydney (2010–2012)
Bachelor of Architecture, Architectural University of Ho Chi Minh City (2000–2005)
Registered Architect, NSW No. 11509
Registered Architect, Victoria
Registered Architect, Queensland
Class 2 Design Practitioner
Selected Project Experience
Woolooware Bay Stage 4 – Mixed-use commercial, hotel, club, office and residential (DA, construction documentation, ADC)
32 Page Street, Pagewood – Mid-rise residential: 219 apartments and 37 townhouses
Lot 104 Lachlan Line, 25–27 Epping Road, Macquarie Park – Mixed-use: 592 apartments, medical centre, gym and retail
47 Spurway Drive, Baulkham Hills – Master plan for 1,300 apartments; Stage 1 construction of 121 apartments
Shepherds Bay Stages 8 and 9, 20–26 Nancarrow Ave, Meadowbank – 423 apartments
Floris Smith, Senior Hospitality Design Consultant
Floris is an award-winning architect and urban designer with o ver 40 years’ experience spanning five continents.
As ex-chairman of the celebrated design firm Smith Meyer Pienaar and Partners in South Africa and subsequently in Australia, he has successfully led a full spectrum of architectural and urban design projects in all major sectors
Floris joined DSA Architects International in 2008 where, as Design Principal for the practice, he leads the design output for all projects undertaken by the Middle East studio, and is also a member of the Senior Executive Board of the company.
The Crescent Development, Baku, Azerbaijan
Major mixed-use development comprising 5-Star Hotel, Mall, Office Tower and Residences.
Size: 250,000m²
Client: Gilan Holding
Swiss International Scientific School, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Minergie sustainable school based on futuristic architectural design using cutting-edge sustainable materials and technology.
Size: 50,000m²
Client: Al Ahmadiah ContractingAnantara 5-Star Hotel, Culture Village,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Contemporary waterside hotel set along the extended Dubai Creek.
Size: 60,000m²
Client: Dubai Properties Group
Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa, Jordan
Connected to the existing Convention Centre, designed using local stone and with pontoon access to the Dead Sea.
Size: 35,000m²
Client: Emaar / Dead Sea Resorts
The Oberoi Hotel,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
5-star business hotel comprising 252 keys and a 30-storey commercial office tower.
Size: 100,000m²
Client: Rani International Development
DSA Architects International United Arab Emirates, 9 years
JPR Architects Australia, 9 years
Kann Finch & Partners Australia, 2 years
Woods Bagot Australia, 1 year
Smith, Meyer PeinaarSouth Africa, 18 years
Education;
Master of Architecture University of Pennsylvania United States of America, 1980
Bachelor of Architecture University of Witwaterrand South Africa, 1976
Christopher Stapleton,
Senior Brand Experience Design Consultant
The 21st Century brings exponential possibilities to building value through brand experience to location based venues. Christopher Stapleton is a Pioneer of eXpanding Reality (XR) that melts the boundaries between compelling reality, dynamic virtual reality and the infinite imagination of customers. His catalytic creativity expands return of investment of Customer Experience (CX) by bridging traditional “bricks & mortar” destinations with “click & order” economy. He has influenced the innovative future of global enterprises of consumer technology, entertainment destinations, health & wellness tourism as well as immersive education.
Responsibilities:
The Brand Experience Architect is responsible for articulating a clear customer motivation and user journey through a physical and virtual brand architecture, interaction interface and experience design that an customer navigates across venues and services offered on location or online.
Global Entertainment Clients Include:
Universal Studios, Disney Imagineering, Nickelodeon Studios, Paramount Parks, Sentosa World Resorts, Wanda , Legend Cultural Development, Meraas Leisure & Entertainment, Sanrio Puroland, Gardaland Park.
Corporate & Research Clients:
HTC Vive, Canon Inc., IBM, SimVentions, Institute for Simulation and Training, Technical University of Munich
Sponsors:
NASA, US National Science Foundation, US Departments of Defense and Education, Space Florida, Canon USA.Forrec Ltd for the Wanda Group
Creative Director for Guest Experience (Forrec/Wanda)
China, Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan
Client rep for Creative Direction with Forrec International. The project included ride-films based upon traditional Chinese myths and cultural history. Multiple attractions with interactive, multi-screen, multisensory experiences.
NASA, Universal Studios, Disney, Nickelodeon Co-Principal Investigator, Mission: LEAP (Simiosys)
Experience Architect for experiential learning landscapes with novel VR & Augmented Reality User Interfaces (UI) to teach innovation skills to families and reignite the American dream of space exploration.
Nickelodeon
Splat City Sr. Art Director (Nickelodeon Experiences), California, Virginia, Ohio
Supervised the Art Direction of Nickelodeon Recreation's first permanent theme park attraction at multiple Paramount Park Locations including Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Great America.
Universal Orlando Resort Senior Production Designer
Responsible for new attraction development for Florida Studio Park.
Walt Disney World Concept Designer
Orlando florida
Concept design future entertainment attractions and events.
Education;
New York University
MFA, Design for Film and Theater • (1978 - 1984)
City University London
NYU Abroad, Art & Theater • (1980 - 1980)
Sean Seonkook Kim,
Senior Healthcare+ Science Design Consultant
Sean Seonkook Kim has 22-year work experience on design management within developer’s perspective, as well as architectural & interior design, space planning and master planning with a strong background designing multiple building typologies of varying scale in size for numerous project types. His design and project management experiences include multi-family residential, commercial, academic, healthcare, institutional, hospitality and K-12 education facility projects throughout California, Massachusetts, U.S., China, Singapore, Bahamas, Mexico and Korea. At CallisonRTKL, leading Seattle/Beijing office's design and production team and mentoring interior and architectural designers and planners as well as business development for commercial, healthcare, hospitality and workplace projects
Selected Projects
CallisonRTKL (formerly known as RTKL Associates), Seattle, Dallas & Beijing, December 2011 – November 2016
Associate Vice President, Design Principal – Responsible for master planning, architectural and interior design and medical planning from concept design thru design development phase and beyond, mentoring designers and planners in several design studios, spearheading on market developments in U.S., Middle-east, China, Korea and Singapore. Evergrande Real Estate Group Medical Mixed-use Development, Hainan, China, 2016(Operator: Partners Health International & Brigham Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA), under construction.
Hangzhou Office Tower Medical Mall Interior Design and Medical Planning, Hangzhou China, 2016(Core & shell Design: KPF), under construction.Genesis Rehabilitation Services Center, Qinghuangdao, China, 2015-16, built in 2016Shanghai United Family Hospital Design Proposal, 2014)
1st Place, Chenzhou 1st People's Hospital East Branch, Chenzhou, China, March 2013, under construction.
1st Place, Gualv New City General Hospital, Guangzhou, China, Jan 013, under construction
Qingdao Shandong University Medical Center, 2013
Beijing United Family Rehabilitation Hospital, Beijing, China, architecture & interior design, 2012-2013, built in 2013
Beichen General Hospital, Beijing, China, architecture & interior design, 2012-2013, built in 2012
1st Place, Qi Lu Shandong University Women's and Children's Hospital, Jinan, China, July 2012, under construction
1st Place, Wuxi New Xishan Peoples’ Hospital, 2012
University of Zhejiang, Yuhang International Medical City, 2012
Chengdu Tianfu Great City Health City Masterplan, 2012
Tianjin Medical University Eco-City Metabolic Disease Hospital, 2011
Shenzhen People’s General Hospital New Addition, 2012
Shanghai Changzheng New Pudong Hospital, 2011
Education;
Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Master in Design Studies, June 1998
Individual Post Graduate Program of design study pursuing architecture and urban design courses
Independent Study Advisor: Peter G. Rowe, Dean of HARVARD GSD
Graduate School of Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
Master of Science in Architecture, Feb 1995
Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Feb 1993