SHAWNA MABIE
Duda|Paine Architects
SAY IT LOUD - North Carolina Exhibitor
North Carolina Based Designer
Who or what inspires you professionally?
People inspire me, especially clients and the potential tenants who will one day occupy the building I played a role in bringing to life. It is humbling to consider the impact I may have on their lives through the built environment.
SHAWNA MABIE
Bio:
The Great architect, Shawna Mabie, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP is an Associate and Project Manager at Duda|Paine Architects where she strives to build a shared sense of ownership among her team members. Shawna’s passion for research guides her as she seeks to create architecture and design spaces that positively impact the experience of users. Shawna serves as the AIA North Carolina Emerging Professional Director where she endeavors to expand on programming that focuses on keeping EPs in the profession.
How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
As a kid, I built “houses” for worms and frogs out of scrap wood. As a preteen I would sit for hours using graph paper to lay out my dream house then cut up cardboard to build models of these houses. In high school I learned about architecture.
What do you do?
I am a project manager with over 12 years of experience in the architecture profession. I have worked on a variety of project types ranging from tiny houses and office towers to life sciences and high education.
What excites you in the work you do?
Moving the ball forward is what excites me the most about being a project manager. I love the complexity of directing and conducting the orchestra of people to keep the project flowing in the right direction.
Who or what inspires you professionally?
People inspire me, especially clients and the potential tenants who will one day occupy the building I played a role in bringing to life. It is humbling to consider the impact I may have on their lives through the built environment.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
My proudest achievement so far was being announced as a finalist in the CTBUH student skyscraper competition and flying to Shanghai, China with a wooden skyscraper design before wood skyscrapers became cool.
Featured Project Name:
Woven: A Wooden Skyscraper
Featured Project Location:
Wolf Point, Chicago, IL
Featured Project Completion Date:
Unbuilt Graduate Student Project
Role in Featured Project:
Project Architect
Featured Project Description:
Why wood? The world is urbanizing. According to UNDESA, 70% of the world’s population will be urban by 2050. Cities are growing and so is the need to preserve our environment. Since wood has a lighter environmental impact than traditional structural materials – steel & concrete – the question we should be asking is ‘why not wood?’ Woven challenges the public’s perception of wood as a viable structural material for skyscrapers – not only is it possible, but it is more sustainable by far.
Photography Credit:
Renderings and Model by Shawna Mabie
Featured Project Name:
The Roxboro at Venable Center
Featured Project Location:
380 E. Pettigrew Street, Durham, NC 27701
Featured Project Completion Date:
December 2021
Role in Featured Project:
Project Manager/Project Architect
Featured Project Description:
The Roxboro at Venable is situated within a revitalized warehouse district, once used for tobacco storage in the early 1900s. The dynamic office building reflects its historic context. Its Northern façade is designed to deflect train noise from tracks along this edge while generous punched openings allowing for city views, honoring its downtown setting. In contrast, its Southern façade, clad in glass, opens to the inner courtyard and connects to the rest of the Venable Center campus.
Photography Credit:
Duda|Paine Architects
Featured Project Name:
One North Hills
Featured Project Location:
4000 Center at North Hills Street, Raleigh, NC 27609
Featured Project Completion Date:
April 2023
Role in Featured Project:
Project Manager/Project Architect
Featured Project Description:
One North Hills’ overall design, an interlocking form made of two primary material expressions, one light and crystalline and the other textured and articulated, speaks to its prominent location on the I-440 Beltline as well as the more intimate scale within the heart of the North Hills District. These two contrasting experiences emphasize the cohesive thread of light, airy elements set against textured, earthen elements at both the building’s exterior design and the interior spaces.
