American, b. 1950
Sara Caples, AIA, is a co-founder and principal of Caples Jefferson Architects PC (CJA), an award-winning design and architecture firm based in New York City. At the intersection of design and social equity, her work seeks to create a “joyously broadened” modern architectural language that provides enriched and enriching experiences for all. Since its founding in 1987, CJA has remained committed to performing at least half its work in communities that have historically been underserved by the design professions.
Among CJA’s most notable projects are Queens Theatre-in-the-Park, which expanded a former World’s Fair building in Flushing Meadows, Queens, into a public theater; the Weeksville Heritage Center, a museum, performance, and educational program space built around a rediscovered freedmen’s preservation site in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; and the Louis Armstrong Center, a museum and administrative building that complement the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens.
Sara holds an undergraduate degree in Art History from Smith College and a Master of Architecture from Yale University. She has taught and lectured at Cambridge University, the University of Miami, and the City College of New York, among others, and has served as the William B. and Charlotte Shepherd Davenport Visiting Professor at the Yale School of Architecture and a Fellow for Innovation in Engagement at the Pratt Institute. Sara has served on the board of the AIA’s New York chapter, and on its National Committee on Design. Alongside Everardo, she co-authored the monograph Many Voices: Architecture for Social Equity, which was published in 2022.
Among CJA’s most notable projects are Queens Theatre-in-the-Park, which expanded a former World’s Fair building in Flushing Meadows, Queens, into a public theater; the Weeksville Heritage Center, a museum, performance, and educational program space built around a rediscovered freedmen’s preservation site in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; and the Louis Armstrong Center, a museum and administrative building that complement the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens.
Sara holds an undergraduate degree in Art History from Smith College and a Master of Architecture from Yale University. She has taught and lectured at Cambridge University, the University of Miami, and the City College of New York, among others, and has served as the William B. and Charlotte Shepherd Davenport Visiting Professor at the Yale School of Architecture and a Fellow for Innovation in Engagement at the Pratt Institute. Sara has served on the board of the AIA’s New York chapter, and on its National Committee on Design. Alongside Everardo, she co-authored the monograph Many Voices: Architecture for Social Equity, which was published in 2022.
