SARA NGAN

Portrait credit to FXCollaborative. Portrait courtesy of Sara Ngan.

Senior Associate, Project Architect/Manager at FXCollaborative

Graduate from Carnegie Mellon University in 2005

Sara Ngan is a Senior Associate at FXCollaborative and co-chair of FXWomxn, the firm’s womxn’s group, serves on the Advisory Board of AIANY’s Women in Architecture Committee, and participates in multiple industry groups. 

She is also a project architect with experience on a wide range of projects with a focus on New York City. She starts each opportunity by considering the totality of people's experience—from the street, entering a building, and within each room. Adept at a full range of projects—from large multi-family residential buildings and landmark building conversions to interior office design—she uses the knowledge gained from one project to enhance the development of another, enabling her to respond dynamically to each client's professional needs. With over 15 years of experience, Sara currently serves as Project Architect/Manager for Apex Place and as Project Architect for the fit-out of FXCollaborative’s new offices at 1 Willoughby Square in Brooklyn. Her past projects include The Greenwich Lane and Webster Apartments. 

She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University and is a Registered Architect in New York. 

Apex Place. Image credits to FXCollaborative. Image courtesy of Sara Ngan.

Mission and Values: Leading Change through Design and Activism

What inspired you to pursue a career in architecture? 

My parents are small-scale residential developers and building owners, so I was exposed to our industry from a young age. I always found how people use spaces really interesting, and when I was trying to figure out what to study in college, architecture was just a perfect fit. I was also a bit of an art, math, and science nerd growing up, so I think this was all meant to be! 

As part of the AAPI group, how has your background and culture impacted the way you design? 

Being AAPI, has not really affected how I design, but has affected how I want to lead. I feel such a responsibility to be a leader that others within the AAPI community and womxn can be proud of, and see themselves in. Frustratingly, there aren’t many womxn in senior roles on projects, and there are even less senior BIPOC womxn in our industry. This lack of representation leads to us taking on this extra weight on our shoulders that if we aren’t successful, it means we are reducing the opportunities for future BIPOC leaders. We have to find ways to support one another and not force this unnecessary pressure on our colleagues. I’ve been trying to find ways to have these essential conversations more openly, so that people can have the space to lead their teams in the ways they feel most comfortable, without the added pressure.

FXCollaborative Office Fit-Out. Image credits to Michael Syracuse. Image courtesy of Sara Ngan.

Tell us about your experience as Project Architect for The Webster Apartments. What was the design process like - in terms of leading the design team and working with the client and community? 

I still have a very clear memory of being interviewed for the project. It was a few days after International Women’s Day in 2018, and I was sitting at a table with several of my mentors in the office: one Partner, one Principal, one Senior Associate, and ALL WOMEN. It was the first time I had ever been on a project team of all women, and I was so proud, and just humbled to be in their company.  

Webster Apartments was a passion project for myself and my teammates. It was this wonderful alignment of missions: providing affordable, safe housing for women in the city, working with a client that happened to be some of the nicest people you could ever work with, and providing a beautiful space that will help their organization continue to support and encourage women. 

From day one, the team started interviewing Webster’s staff to understand what they needed to succeed and continue their mission. It wasn’t about us telling them what they should have, it was about us learning from them and how they worked. Although the project is on hold, we are still in contact with the team and try to help in whatever way we can. 

Webster Apartments. Image credits to FXCollaborative. Image courtesy of Sara Ngan.

You participated in Covenant House Sleep Out to raise awareness about the youth homelessness crisis. As an architect, we have the capacity, with the community, to improve this. How have you been advocating for change through your project proposals? 

Covenant House is such an amazing organization that is doing such great work. 

We as individuals, and even more so as a collective have the ability to enact change in how we approach our project teams, and how we look at how our projects engage with the community. Sometimes it’s as simple as making sure the designs for our buildings aren’t just about how it sits on it’s own site, but how it integrates to their neighborhoods. Where we locate entrances to spaces, are we pushing for community facility spaces that can support non-profits that support the community, are we blocking critical views of neighboring buildings? These are all critical questions that all designers should be asking themselves. 

With the construction of FXCollaborative’s new headquarters, the team and I kept on pushing to see more womxn working on the construction of our space. We’d asked to know the percentages of BIPOC persons, and percentages of womxn because we wanted our future home to built by a team that reflected the communities that we design for. We were positioned in a way that we could ask for this, but all developers and architects should be doing the same. Womxn absurdly make up only 3% of the construction labor force, and more should be done to support organizations like Non-traditional Employment for Women (NEW) that train women to work in the trades, and gain a livable wage to support their families and themselves.

Being a Senior Associate for many years at FXCollaborative, how has your journey been? How have you grown within the company? 

I’ve told people that my journey at FXCollaborative was a path of finally realizing what I wanted from a firm, because I was getting exposed to a company that integrates their missions and values into their work and how they run their company. I saw women in leadership, a diverse set of colleagues, a passion for how our work related to the environment, and most importantly a nurturing group of individuals that openly shared lessons learned from their projects, and advocated for one another. I felt like I was going to learn so much, and I would have the space to show my commitment to the firm in whatever way I wanted, eventually becoming the co-chair of FXWomxn (formally Women of FXFowle)

Project-wise, it’s been such an amazing, crazy journey from my first day at FXCollaborative, that has been pushed me to learn and grow at every opportunity. Developments at the scale of The Greenwich Lane don’t come by often, and I don’t think there’s any number of years of experience that could prepare someone to work at that complexity. I gained SO much from the FXC and external team, and take those lessons learned to all of the projects I’ve worked on since. 

One of my current projects, FXCollaborative’s new offices in Downtown Brooklyn, really tested the skills that I’ve learned through the years. I had to play the role of not only architect and interior designer, but also of the owner, construction manager, and cost estimator! If I had to lead this project even a few years ago, I don’t think I would have been able to do it to the quality that the space and firm deserved. 

The Greenwich Lane. Image credits to David Sundberg, Esto. Image courtesy of Sara Ngan.

Speaking of FXCollaborative, tell us about FXWomxn. How did FXWomxn begin?

FXWomxn was FXCollaborative’s first employee resource group. It was started 8 years ago by several junior-level designers and architects that felt like they weren’t getting enough exposure to mentors, leadership opportunities, or projects under construction. They really pushed for more open conversations on representation and equity, at a time (not long ago) where firms weren’t willing to share information. I am so thankful for the tenacity and drive that the founders had, that has lead FXWomxn to be as successful as it is today.

As Co-Chair of FXWomxn, how do you support professional growth and leadership development for womxn internally and for womxn in the profession?

One thing that I’ve been doing a lot, is pushing for vulnerability and honesty to be seen as a leadership skill. Studies show that womxn often put a lot of pressure on themselves to be the best of the best, because they don’t think opportunities will come their way again, or that they don’t feel like they have earned the opportunity so they overwork themselves to make up for their imposter syndrome. In several FXWomxn committee meetings, I helped set up conversations where committee members felt safe talking about what it meant to have imposter syndrome, and when they’ve had it. This past March for Womxn’s History Month, I organized a workshop with Dr. Lisa Orbe-Austin, a leader in this topic that was well attended by both men and womxn in the office. People came out of it feeling like they “weren’t crazy” and “weren’t alone” in feeling this way. They started feeling supported and have taken the knowledge they’ve gained from the workshop as initial steps to get them to feel more confident in their skills.

Womens March 2019. Image credits to FXCollaborative. Image courtesy of Sara Ngan.

Externally, we have to do more to mentor the next generation of architects, and introduce architecture earlier in the pipeline. My colleagues and I often volunteer to do an introduction to architecture workshops with NYC public schools, Girl Scouts and Tools, and Tiaras. It’s almost too late if we only start mentoring college-age students. Pre-pandemic, FXCollaborative would host several in-person resume and portfolio workshops a year to help get students ready for their first foray into full-time work. In light of the state of the economy and social unrest last year, we pushed to take these workshops virtual. Reports were coming out that womxn and BIPOC professionals were disproportionally affected by layoffs and we wanted to help as best as we could. We partnered up with AIANY WIA, NOMA, and Build Out Alliance to make sure that we had the widest reach to help not just students, but professionals that had recently lost their jobs. It was such a proud moment as we saw that people from all over the country, and even internationally had participated.   

Tools and Tiaras. Image credits to FXCollaborative. Image courtesy of Sara Ngan.

In addition to being a Co-Chair of FXWomxn, you also serve on the Advisory Board for AIANY Women in Architecture committee. What motivated you to be involved in the committee? How has it helped you grow in the industry?

The work to get our industry to evolve and be more inclusive isn’t one that can solely be done in the comforts of FXCollaborative. I knew that the conversations that we have grown accustomed to having, aren’t occurring at most firms and industry groups, so I wanted to find an avenue to help push our community along. FXWomxn has co-sponsored several events with AIANY WIA and I’ve been able to develop great relationships with the steering committee. It’s really been a seamless transition to get to work with all the talented womxn leading the group.

We are inspired by all the work you do and how involved you are in the industry to ensure diversity and inclusion for BIPOC and womxn. What does your day-to-day look like? 

What I love about being an architect is that every day is a bit different from the next. There’s a difficult balance of committing the appropriate time to projects, and to my advocacy work.  

I am an early bird and usually start reading and responding to emails at 7:30 am. During this work-from-home era, we have significantly more meetings than we used to, so most days are filled with meetings for my various project and office commitments that typically run on and off starting from 9:30 am to 4 pm. These meetings include daily check-ins with my project teams to make sure everyone’s aware of the tasks at hand, and how it relates to our project’s schedules. I also have weekly site visits to make sure the construction of our office fit-out has progressed to what we’d be happy with. After-hours work usually consists of event planning for FXWomxn or committee meetings for AIANY WIA. There are definitely many late nights to get everything done to the caliber that I am happy with. 

Pride March 2017. Image credits to Aimee Kim. Image courtesy of Sara Ngan.

AIDS Walk 2017. Image credits to Rajas Karnik. Image courtesy of Sara Ngan.

For everyone who hopes to become a designer while being involved in organizations, how do you maintain a work-life balance? 

Work-life balance is EXTREMELY HARD, and I think it’s only gotten harder the more senior I get, and the more committed I get to the various initiatives I am involved in. What I need to do more often, is to check with myself on what I am willing to do and what I should pass on.  As the daughter of immigrants, I was taught to keep on working hard and not pass on opportunities because you don’t know when they will come next. However, this isn’t realistic in the scheme of things. I am in the process of trying to unlearn these bad habits, but it’s a really slow process for me. 

I am also not very good with self-care. Long hours and endless commitments take a toll on a person’s mental and physical well-being, and I have to get better at taking time out to go for walks, work out, and see loved ones. Something that I used to do a lot, and really miss, was cook and bake. I had a good run going for a while at the start of the pandemic! I grew up knowing that cooking for others is a way to show love and appreciation, and it always brings me so much joy.

Left: Shitaki Mushrooms, Red Onion, and Manchego Quiche

Right: Hojicha Shortbread Cookies

Images courtesy of Sara Ngan.

Finally, what advice do you have for the next generation of aspiring architects?

Everyone should try working with different firms, project typologies, and roles on projects. It’s easy to start working after undergrad or grad school, and think that you will only be successful if you work in a certain size firm or only do large-scale projects, and that isn’t the case. Trying out different opportunities will give you a better awareness of what works for you.

I am so excited for the next generation of CITIZEN architects. I hope that you and others see that the profession is not just about designing beautiful buildings, but that we can also do it while advocating for change, for social justice, and for better representation. I don’t want anyone to think that they have to compartmentalize portions of themselves to be advance in their careers!