Shiran Sooriya-Arachchi

For thirty years I've built places that carry a brand's argument — retail, hospitality, culture and private homes across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

I've worked both sides of the table. Client-side, I ran the APAC Retail Design and Development Centre for Estée Lauder Companies — 200+ stores a year across eleven markets with a team of twelve designers and artists, spanning Estée Lauder, Clinique and Tom Ford — and before that Retail Architecture APAC at Clarins at 120 stores a year. I've been AVP Design and Architecture at Valiram across Michael Kors, Victoria's Secret and Godiva, and delivered watch boutiques for DFS at Changi. Consultant-side, I take buildings through concept, tender, construction and handover, most recently as interior design lead on a 400K sqft, 16K-seat arena.

The work I'm proudest of is adaptive. A dockside warehouse became the Whitestone Art Gallery in Singapore, with Kengo Kuma as lead architect. A 340-year-old Dutch UNESCO heritage building in Sri Lanka became a hospitality concept for the founders of Aman. At SCDA Architects I shaped the look and feel for Giorgio Armani Residences and 300+ keys at the Trident, Hyderabad; at the Marriott Jakarta I held the art consultancy across public spaces, F&B and the owners' apartments. Alongside the brand work: private residences for VVIP clients, including the House for the Commander of the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

What that adds up to for you: a designer who has owned the fee, the programme and the client relationship — I've founded and run three practices — and who stays on the job through millwork drawings, prototypes, site reviews and installation. Briefs often arrive in conversation rather than in writing. Discretion is part of the service.

First prize for experience design, Singapore Institute of Architects. Published in eVolo Skyscrapers 2. Guest speaker at INDEX Dubai and on Customer Experience, Marina Bay Sand's in Singapore. Adjunct Lecturer at Nanyang Technological University's School of Art, Design + Media, whose library I designed.

British Institute of Interior Design registered. RIBA Part 1 qualified. Educated in London. Based in Singapore. Made in England.