Sarah Payton

Assoc. AIA , SEED AP

Senior Designer

Boston, MA, USA

For Sarah, making buildings is one small part of making spaces. She is inspired by how buildings evolve into spaces where people break bread together, learn from one another, and create memories that outlive the physical structures. 

As a Senior Designer at MASS, Sarah guides teams through design and documentation processes, with a focus on affordable housing. She is engaged in the development of Olmsted Village Brooke House, a Passive House Certifiable 127-unit affordable senior housing development with a clinic and child care center that creates opportunities for intergenerational interaction. More recently, Sarah has led the construction administration of two PACE centers and supported the construction administration of the JJ Carroll Redevelopment in Boston. 

Before joining MASS, Sarah spent her time living and studying in the Pacific Northwest where she found herself drawn to projects deeply rooted in place, and their relationships with the natural environment. After completing her graduate studies, Sarah’s work at Mahlum Architects explored equitable design solutions, incorporated progressive construction methods such as CLT and mass timber, and created spaces that celebrated people and community.  

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Roger Williams University and a Master in Architecture with a specialization in Urban Design from the University of Oregon. Her thesis examined community resilience in the wake of natural disasters. 

A building, a space, a design, is intended to tell a story, but it’s the creation and unfolding of stories resulting from the product of the built environment that continuously drive the passion and desire to enhance the lives of underrepresented communities and individuals.