Pascale Sablan (born 1983) is an American architect and designer. She is an associate principal at Adjaye Associates and became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2021. Sablan advocates on behalf of women and BIPOC people in architecture as the founder and executive director of Beyond the Built Environment. She previously worked for FXFOWLE (now FXCollaborative) and S9 Architecture.

Pascale Sablan
Born
Pascale Saint-Louis

(1983-03-27) March 27, 1983 (age 41)
Queens, New York, U.S.
Alma materColumbia University
Pratt Institute School of Architecture
OccupationArchitect
PracticeAdjaye Associates
S9 Architecture
FXFOWLE

Sablan has served as the historian and president of the National Organization of Minority Architects. She received the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award from the American Institute of Architects in 2021. Projects that she has contributed to include the Ancestral Chamber of the African Burial Ground National Monument, schools in Haiti, and the Bronx Point Project which includes the Universal Hip Hop Museum. She earned architectural degrees from Columbia University and the Pratt Institute School of Architecture.

Early life and education

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Pascale Saint-Louis was born in 1983 in Queens, the second oldest of 10 children.[1] She is part of the Haitian diaspora and speaks Haitian Creole.[2] While painting a mural for a community center in Pomonok, Queens, when she was 11, she was told she would make a good architect.[3][4] She graduated from The Mary Louis Academy in 2001.

She earned her Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Pratt Institute School of Architecture in 2006.[5] While she was a student at Pratt, she interned with Aarris Architects,[6] working on a project for the Ancestral Chamber of the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York.[5] She earned her master's in architectural design from Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation in 2007.[5]

Architectural career

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Following her graduation in 2007, Sablan worked as an architect for FXFOWLE (now FXCollaborative) for 10 years as a member of its international studio.[6] In 2014, she was licensed as an architect and promoted to associate at the firm after working for 13 years.[3] She was the 315th living Black woman to be licensed in architecture in the United States.[7] While at FXFOWLE, she worked on design for the Museum of the Built Environment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[8] She was a senior associate at S9 Architecture from 2017 to 2021. Sablan was hired as a senior associate at Adjaye Associates in 2021. In January 2023, Sablan was promoted to associate principal at Adjaye Associates New York studio.[9] She has worked on residential, mixed-use, and commercial projects in Azerbaijan, India, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan.[10]

Sablan has been involved with the ACE Mentorship Program since 2012. She worked alongside students to design a school campus for the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, following the earthquake in 2010.[11][12] Among Sablan's projects was the 540-unit residential Bronx Point Project which includes the Universal Hip Hop Museum and a community facility.[13]

Sablan advocates on behalf of women and BIPOC people in architecture. She is the founder and executive director of the platform Beyond the Built Environment,[11] which originated in 2017. It is dedicated to promoting people of color and women within the field of architecture.[5] The group's 2017 exhibition SAY IT LOUD highlighted work by members of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). By 2022, the group had staged 34 exhibitions around the world.[14] She served as historian of NOMA and became president of the organization in 2021.[5][11] In 2020, Sablan started the Great Diverse Designers Library, a directory of women and people of color in design and architecture.[15]

Sablan is a former president of the New York Coalition of Black Architects and has been on the board of trustees of The Mary Louis Academy.[6] She is on the board of directors of AIA New York[13] and gives lectures at universities.[13] In 2021, Sablan became the youngest AIA College of Fellows inductee at age 38. [9]

Awards

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In 2014, Sablan won the Emerging Professional Award from AIA New York/Center for Architecture. She was named member of the year of the National Organization of Minority Architects in 2015. In 2018, she won the Young Architects award of the American Institute of Architects.[11] She became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2021. She received the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award from the American Institute of Architects in 2021.[16] She won three Anthem Awards of the Webby Awards program in 2022.[17]

References

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  1. ^ Speros, Will (February 2023). "Rising Tide". Hospitality Design. p. 47.
  2. ^ D'Angelo, Madeleine; Lau, Wanda (December 9, 2020). "Pascale Sablan Wins AIA 2021 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award". Architect Magazine. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Medina, Samuel (February 18, 2021). "Pascale Sablan wants to bring equity beyond the built environment". The Architect's Newspaper. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  4. ^ Edwards, Meghan (August 24, 2020). "10 Questions With… Pascale Sablan". Interior Design. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e Romo, Vanessa (March 12, 2023). "Very few architects are Black. This woman is pushing to change that". NPR. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Fazzare, Elizabeth (September 26, 2020). "Architect-Advocate Pascale Sablan Is Revising The History Of The Built Environment". Forbes.
  7. ^ Mavros, Kara (June 9, 2020). "Balancing Act: Pascale Sablan on Advocacy and Action". Architectural Record. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  8. ^ "Pascale Sablan of FXFOWLE Architects". Modelo. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Romo, Vanessa (March 12, 2023). "Very few architects are Black. This woman is pushing to change that". Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  10. ^ "Featured Member: Pascale Sablan, FAIA". AIA New York. February 3, 2021. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d Sitz, Miriam (December 9, 2020). "Pascale Sablan Wins 2021 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award". Architectural Record. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  12. ^ "We Contain Multitudes: The 2018 Alumni Achievement Award Winners on Empathy at Work". Pratt Institute. November 14, 2018. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c "Architect Pascale Sablan to Present 'I Was Asked to Stand' Lecture Online on April 5". University of Arkansas News. March 30, 2021. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  14. ^ Allen, Nafeesah (June 13, 2022). "Why This Architect Thinks Activism Has to Be a Part of Design". House Beautiful. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  15. ^ Brandon, Elissaveta M. (December 16, 2020). "This Digital Library Is Bringing Overdue Recognition to Marginalized Designers". Architectural Digest. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  16. ^ "Pascale Sablan, FAIA". The American Institute of Architects. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  17. ^ Niland, Josh (September 13, 2022). "NOMA's President-Elect Pascale Sablan takes home three inaugural Anthem Awards". Archinect. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
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