Bio:
Everardo Jefferson is an architect who has spent the last forty years creating modern designs that engage with the cultures and communities of New York. Jefferson is co-founder of the award- winning architecture firm Caples Jefferson Architects with Sara Caples—together they design almost all of their work for public and institutional clients, committed to serving the needs of the community. Jefferson currently serves as a Commissioner on the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
I started as an industrial designer, but over time found myself more interested in the environment than the object. A friend said to me “architecture is just packaging people instead of eggs.” It’s more than that.
What do you do?
Simply, I design buildings. My practice is based in the idea that civilization is all of us coming together to be the best we can be - there is no individual, it’s just all of us together on this planet. It’s all one space, one structure.
What excites you in the work you do?
I’m most excited working with people, working with my team - it’s why I miss the office these days. We all have our own skills, and working together is orchestrating those skills to create something bigger than us.
Who or what inspires you professionally?
It’s an endless list. I’m inspired by the fantastic things I’ve seen while traveling, projects that are just beautiful - human beings focusing on creating something beautiful. I find inspiration in so many fields, from literature and art to politics.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
I’m proud of all my projects, precisely because of the collaboration involved - each one had a different team, and each project brought out the best in all of us at that particular time.
Featured Project Name:
Weeksville Heritage Center
Featured Project Location:
Brooklyn, NY
Featured Project Completion Date:
2014
Role in Featured Project:
Principal
Featured Project Description:
Weeksville Heritage Center is a sustainable two-story modern building and interpretive landscape, located in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. The new structure provides state-of- the-art exhibition, performance, and educational facilities, as well as a green oasis for staff, visitors and the local community. It is a unique urban design project in which a modern architectural syntax of simple forms, strip windows, and glass passageways is impacted by repeated African riffs.
Photography Credit:
Images 1, 2, 3, 4 by Nic Lehoux; Image 5 by Michael Anton
Featured Project Name:
10 Bouck Court
Featured Project Location:
Brooklyn, NY
Featured Project Completion Date:
2016
Role in Featured Project:
Principal
Featured Project Description:
The new Pre-Kindergarten at 10 Bouck Court in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn is a 22,000 square foot renovation of a single-story building located in an industrial corridor. Part of NYC’s new universal Pre-K program, the new school provides naturally lit, inwardly-focused classroom and gathering spaces. Strategic design elements, including a green wall in the entry forecourt and a sky-lit interior plaza for school and community gatherings, provide a welcome respite for students and residents.
Photography Credit:
Albert Vecerka
Featured Project Name:
Louis Armstrong House Museum Visitor Center
Featured Project Location:
Queens, NY
Featured Project Completion Date:
2021
Role in Featured Project:
Principal
Featured Project Description:
The new visitor’s center at the Louis Armstrong House Museum will extend visitors’ appreciation of Louis Armstrong, the man and the music. The curving building, diagonally sliced within, recollects both the rough jazz and the love of lyricism that were Louis’ leading achievements. Daylight cuts in and out of exhibit spaces, archives, and research rooms, culminating in the Jazz Room where live musicians will open their rehearsals to reveal the living legacy of Louis’ music.
Photography Credit:
Cicada Design
Featured Project Name:
Queens Theatre-in-the-Park
Featured Project Location:
Queens, NY
Featured Project Completion Date:
2012
Role in Featured Project:
Principal
Featured Project Description:
Queens Theatre is a place of reconnections, additions that build upon the playful circular geometries of the original 1964 Philip Johnson World’s Fair complex. The new structure is a 600-person reception room for the Borough. Using principles of Gestalt psychology and the art of perspective, we designed a structurally glazed wall with metal fins projecting at each vertical joint – a transparent viewing pavilion from which to appreciate the park’s dreams of futures past.
Photography Credit:
Images 1, 2, 3 by Nic Lehoux; Image 4 by Julian Olivas
Featured Project Name:
Marcus Garvey Community Center
Featured Project Location:
Brooklyn, NY
Featured Project Completion Date:
2011
Role in Featured Project:
Principal
Featured Project Description:
The design for the Marcus Garvey Community Center was conceived through deep analysis of the site – it reflects a need to divide the space into sectors outdoors in order to reduce social friction. Each generation, each cycle of the day’s tasks, each group of activities has its own physical sphere. The building is a place of safety in the middle of an underserved neighborhood, inviting community members to participate in the constructive life within.
Photography Credit:
Image 1 by Nic Lehoux; Image 2, 3 by Michael Anton; Image 4 by Caples Jefferson Architects; Image 5 by Julian Olivas
