Sarah Angne Alfaro
Associate Professor of Interior Design and Interior Design Program Coordinator
Dr. Sarah Angne Alfaro has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in interior design, a certificate in historic preservation, and a doctoral degree in architectural studies. Sarah has worked in the field for both large and small design firms, designed residentially and commercially, ranging from institutional to themed-entertainment facilities. Later she became a territory manager and eventually opened her own practice. Sarah began teaching in 2007. She leans on a learner-centered approach to relay concepts of theory and practice into her pedagogy in order to mentor, equip, and collaborate among the future generation of designers. Sustainability has always been at the forefront of her practice, education, and scholarship. She has written for the Biomimicry Institute and developed a creative studio environment around this concept. Another passion for Sarah emerged in 2008 when she moved to Southern California to plant a church. Investing years in community outreach she experienced spiritual and cultural connections in a variety of spatial environments. The culmination of these experiences are seen in her dissertation, projected book, titled:
Becoming Christ Cathedral: The Emergence, Rise, and Transformation of the Crystal Cathedral. Sarah uses a synergistic combination of qualitative methods in her scholarly investigations. Interested in how the designed environment shapes the actions of people, and how people shape the place, she is positioned in the field of environment-behavior (EB) focusing on the fluid built form; places in the state of becoming, never finished, always being performed. Her research and design interests combine her knowledge of the built environment, sociology, and religious studies to further understand and expand the meaning of place.
Education:
University of Missouri-Columbia; Missouri
College of Human Environmental Science
Degree: Ph.D. Architectural Studies (December 2016)*
*Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) King Award Recipient for architectural + environmental research excellence
Savannah College of Art and Design; Georgia
College of Interior Design
Degree: M.A. Interior Design (May 2010)
Certificate: Historic Preservation (December 2010)
University of Cincinnati; Ohio
College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning
Degree: B.S. Interior Design (June 2004)