Résumé

Nellie Susanella Alden went professionally by her married name, "N. Sue Alden." N.Sue Alden had a long, architectural career working in a large architectural firm--Naramore, Bain, Brady and Johanson--doing a variety of commercial and institutional jobs. She was the first woman architect to work in a big, successful office in Seattle, making her an important trailblazer. Up to this time, the few women who entered the field either preferred to or were forced to focus on small-scale residential design.

Draftswoman, Tucker and Shields, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1954. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1954, p. 39.)

Project Architect/Managing Associate, Naramore, Bain, Brady and Johanson (NBBJ), Seattle, WA.

Principal, N. Sue Alden, Architect, Seattle, WA. In her later years, Alden had a home studio where she worked.

Teaching

Design Studio instructor, University of Washington (UW), College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Seattle, WA, 1974. Member, Seattle Central Community College Technical Drafting Curriculum Advisory Board.

Professional Activities

Member, American Institute of Architects, Seattle Chapter, Seattle, WA. Charter Member/Treasurer, Association for Women in Architecture, 1974-2004; Member, City of Seattle Building Code Advisory Board; Member, Seattle Fire Prevention Code Advisory Board; Representative, Seattle Chapter AIA to AIA Washington Council, 1981. Member, Elliot Shorelines Exhibit Advisory Board.

According to former AIA Seattle Executive Director Marga Rose Hancock, "Her experience as a project architect and manager with NBBJ for live performance theaters, high technology research centers, and prototype designs for Trident missile-servicing facilities faciliated this work. She headed an AIA/DCLU [City of Seattle Department of Construction and Land Use] committee to find ways to improve the permitting process by clarifying procedures and shortening process time. As a member of joint committees of AIA Washington Council and Architects and Engineers Legislative Council/AELC [Architects and Engineers Legislative Council], she guided the monitoring and prioritization of AIA lobbying efforts for proposed legislation at the state level affecting the profession and environment." Alden also was very important in the development and interpretation of local building codes: "[Alden] ...specialized in the development and incorporation of building codes into design at a time when few of her colleagues knew about codes. Sue influenced code development in both state and national jurisdictions (Amended Uniform Codes)." (See Marga Rose Hancock, "Sue Alden FAIA," in the "AIA Fellows List," accessed 09/16/2015.)

Professional Awards

Fellow, American Institute of Architects, (FAIA), 1998.

College

B.Arch., University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Seattle, WA, 1951. The UW Class of 1951 produced a number of well-known local architects, including, Norman Aehle (1923-2011), Ralph D. Anderson (1924-2010), Carl Arne Bystrom (b. 1927), Robert Chervenak (1924-2010), James Greco, Anker Molver, and Roderick Parr (1925-1999)

Relocation

As a student. Nellie S. Harris resided at 4331 12 Avenue NE, Apartment #9 near the UW campus. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1953, p. 37.)

Alden lived with her husband Richard at 4511 Ravenna Avenue in 1954 and 1955. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1954, p. 39 and Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1955, p. 39.)

Spouse

She married Richard S. Alden (1930-1992), an architect and Associate Professor at the University of Washington's Department of Architecture, in 1953 or early 1954 in Seattle, WA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Marriage Records, 1854-2013; Reference Number: kingcoarchmc880829_07554, accessed 02/08/2024.)

Biographical Notes

Her maiden name was "Harris."