Biography
Carolyn is a Regional Practice Area Leader in Gensler's Pittsburgh office. She combines her architecture and planning experience with a passion for engaging stakeholders and communities in dialogue about long-term project planning.
Trained in both social science and design, Carolyn brings a distinctive approach to her work, considering every design decision through the lens of user perspective. Her past project work includes urban revitalization, new city planning, tactical urbanism and creative placemaking, transit-oriented development, aviation planning, and airport city planning. Carolyn recently published a guide to temporary urbanism, focused on the transformative power of playful interventions in the built environment.
I prioritize work that helps communities move from vision to implementation. I believe expanding the profession’s understanding of how public space, redevelopment, and civic infrastructure creates lasting value.
Selected Projects
Qualifications and Recognition
Master of Science, London School of Economics and Political Science
Bachelor of Architecture, Catholic University of America
Registered Architect: District of Columbia
American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP)
LEED AP BD+C
Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Co-Chair and Chair, Mission Advancement, UrbanPlan, ULI Pittsburgh
Board Member and Treasurer, Green Building Alliance
Pittsburgh Business Times, Personalities of Pittsburgh: Carolyn Sponza, Gensler (2023)
DC Women in Architecture Series, "Carolyn Sponza: An Insider's Look" (2013)
AIA New York Vice-Presidential Citation (2009)
AIA Emerging Professional Program of the Year (2006)
Speaker, ULI Pittsburgh Building Decarbonization with Subject Matter Experts, 2024