Charles Phu (

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

: 符傳禎; Russian: Чарльз Фу), is a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based

architectural designer The term architectural designer may refer to a building designer who is not a registered architect, architectural technologist or any other person that is involved in the design process of buildings or urban landscapes. Architectural designers ...

and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

set designer. Countries and regions in which his design works are located include Europe, Russia, USA, China, India, Taiwan, and the Middle East. Phu is the founder and design director of the London-based design practice Office for Architectural Culture. He designed the CCK Presidential Memorial Library and Museum in Taipei, and the chief architectural designer of 'Okhta Centre', now known as Lakhta Centre, in Saint Petersburg. Charles Phu was selected one of the 18 prominent international architectural designers by European journalists in 2011. Phu has made a number of studies on architecture and cultures including

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...

Mongolians The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...

along the ancient

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

Designs

Phu designed a number of landmark buildings, tall buildings, cultural buildings and master plan designs. Amongst his design works are: *CCK Chi-Hai Cultural Park - Chiang Ching-Kuo Presidential Memorial Library and Museum, Taipei, Taiwan. *The

Okhta Centre Okhta Center or phonetically Oḱhta-Tseńtr (Russian: О́хта-це́нтр), known before March 2007 as Gazprom City (Russian:Газпро́м-си́ти), was a construction project of a business centre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was supp ...

project (including the 463-meter high tower and concert hall) in

St Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, for which he was the Chief Architectural Designer. Its construction is expected to be completed in 2019. * Famen Temple World Zen Meditation Park and Museums Development, Shaanxi, China * UNESCO Heritage Site Tang Dynasty Imperial 'Daming Palace regeneration development, Xi'an, China * International Oceanic Fishing Cultural Centre Development, Tanmen, China * Dankuni New Township Master Plan, Kolkata, India *

China World Trade Center Tower III China World Trade Center Tower III is a supertall skyscraper with 74 floors, 5 underground floors, and 30 elevators in Beijing, China. It is the third phase of development of the China World Trade Center complex in Beijing's central business dist ...

(330m) and Shangri-la Summit Wing Hotel in Beijing *

Beijing Financial Street Beijing Financial Street (BFS) () is where Chinese regulatory agencies are located. It is located inside Beijing's innermost 2nd Ring Road. According to the 13th 5 years plan, Beijing Financial Street will be positioned more towards a regulat ...

, including Ritz-Carlton Hotel

Okhta Centre

In 2010 it was reported by Russian and UK press that Charles Phu said at a public debate in London that the architect has been getting regular memoranda from

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, encouraging them to go ahead with the project of Okhta Centre and promising support from the government. This resulted in widespread press coverage and heated public discussions but was proved to be untrue according to Putin, Phu himself and the participants.

Opera set design

After designing opera productions in Asia and North America, Phu made his UK debut as an opera designer with ''

Sonya's Story ''Sonya's Story'' (Russian: История Сони) is an opera by the British composer Neal Thornton to a libretto based on the original Russian text of Anton Chekhov's 1899 play ''Uncle Vanya''. The libretto reproduces passages from ''Uncle Va ...

'', which premiered in London on 7 August 2010. The critic from ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' described Phu's sets and lighting for the premiere production as "elegant".Duchen, Jessica (24 August 2010)
"Review: ''Sonya’s Story'', Riverside Studios, London"
''

'' independent.co.uk In 2013 Phu created the set and lighting designs for the opera 'Cosi fan tutte' in Dubrovnik, Croatia, the first opera production in Dubrovnik in 48 years.

Designs

Okhta Centre

Opera set design

References

Further reading