Sara Queen

Bio

Sara Queen is an Associate Professor at the School of Architecture teaching a range of undergraduate and graduate studios as well as advanced graduate research seminars.  Sara was recently honored as the 2017 Emerging Professional by the North Carolina AIA Chapter for her extraordinary accomplishments in architectural design, design discourse, architectural education, and mentoring of the next generation of architects. Additionally Sara’s teaching excellence has been recognized through the national ACSA / AIAS New Faculty Teaching Award in spring of 2014, the 2016 NC State University Outstanding Teacher Award, the Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Award, and the NCSU TH!NK Faculty Fellowship in Critical and Creative Thinking.

In addition to the scholarship of teaching, Sara’s ongoing research investigates infrastructural networks through mapping methodologies with the goal of facilitating deeper, more diverse understandings of urban systems and the processes which shape physical place, cultural space and social territory. Sara currently serves as a City of Raleigh Planning Commissioner and has presented at numerous national and international conferences including the Architectural Research Centers Consortium and European Association for Architectural Education International Conference, the National Conference on the Beginning Design Student, the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture National Conference, and the East Midlands History and Philosophy Research Network International Conference.Sara has worked as a project manager and designer at Frank Harmon Architect in Raleigh NC leading a range of projects from museums and academic campus buildings to small residential projects, including the award-winning Strickland-Ferris Residence and the Prairie Ridge Eco-Station.  She continues to practice, in addition to teaching, as a project manager with Joe Sam Queen Architect in Waynesville NC leading a range of cultural and residential projects located throughout the region.  Before pursuing her master’s degree, she took a break from traditional practice to immerse herself in an iron sculpture studio studying blacksmithing.  Sara continues to explore the principles of architecture through materials and processes borrowed from related art, craft, and design disciplines.  Most recently, Sara taught a summer studio at Penland School of Crafts, Living Inside the Book, which explored the shared properties of book making and design with conceptions of architectural space.

Sara received her Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture from North Carolina State University and graduated with distinction in earning her Master in Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. While pursuing her graduate degree, Sara assisted in numerous courses ranging in subjects from environmental technologies to construction systems and structures to introductory studios. She additionally taught summer studios through the Career Discovery and Project Link Programs at Harvard University and CAM Raleigh.