Sablan’s talk I Was Asked to Stand empowers audiences to dismantle injustice by exploring—and confronting—the lack of representation, documentation, and acknowledgment of diverse designers and architects and their many great works. The discussion will speak to the historical infrastructure oppressing women and BIPOC architects; present programs and initiatives that fight for justice; and to future collaborations that aspire to achieve a built environment eradicated of racism, sexism, and all forms of oppression.
Pascale Sablan, FAIA, NOMA, LEED AP
Through documentation, curation, and acts of elevation, Sablan champions women and diverse design professionals. Her objective: to create a just profession, bring social awareness to the built environment, and empower communities through design.
With more than 13 years of experience, Sablan has worked on a variety of mixed-use, commercial, cultural, and residential projects in the US and globally. Sablan is this country’s 315th living African American, female registered architect. Advancing architecture for the betterment of society, she brings visibility and voice to the issues concerning women and diverse designers. Sablan founded the Beyond the Built Environment organization, which is uniquely positioned to address the inequitable disparities in her field. She was awarded the 2021 AIA Whitney M. Young. Jr Award for her advocacy efforts and ascended to the AIA College of Fellows, the youngest African American to reach that honor. She also received Pratt Alumni Achievement Award and was featured on the cover of Building Design + Construction magazine as part of their 40 Under 40 Class of 2017. Sablan has given lectures at colleges and universities nationally as well as at such cultural institutions as the United Nations and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.