Sara Bega’s work is dedicated to the creation of enduring built environments that celebrate valued traditions and cultures. Her design and consulting projects with Bega Design Studio explore pedestrian-priority urbanism and timeless local architecture.

Bega is former Town Architect of Las Catalinas, a hilltown on Costa Rica’s Guanacaste coast. For over a decade she led architectural and urban design efforts, developing strategies for car-free urbanism filled with vernacular architecture. Throughout her tenure, Bega’s design work focused on fabric buildings, public spaces, and micro-phased neighborhood plans. Las Catalinas received a CNU Charter Award (2022) and Urban Guild Design Excellence Awards (2020).

Bega is also an Adjunct Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, where she teaches studio classes on contextual design process.