How it started…
Ray and Mary Johnston met in graduate school at the University of Washington. “Our relationship was cemented after an uninformed and harsh critique from a professor who shall remain nameless," Ray recalls. He suggested they grab a beer at the College Inn after class. The rest is history.
After graduate school, the Johnstons ended up working for their former professors. Mary interned with the renowned Modernist, Wendell Lovett, and Ray for an up-and-coming local architect, James Cutler. They went on to build careers working at Hewitt and Cardwell Thomas, respectively.
As the Johnstons’ careers matured, so did their family. When their daughter was ten and their son was four, Mary and Ray realized they could better balance the needs of their family, and fulfill their passions as architects, working alongside one another rather than for others. In 1991, they founded Johnston Architects and started working at their kitchen table.
How it’s going…
Today, JA is a Women-Owned firm providing full-service architecture, interior design, planning, and technology-driven solutions to public and private clients throughout the country.
We are led by a team of six partners: Mary & Ray Johnston, Megan McKay, Jack Chaffin, Alison Walker Brems, and Mona Johnston Zellers.
JA is part of the International Living Future Institute’s JUST program and our portfolio is intentionally diverse. We are committed to creating exceptional and inclusive built spaces through intelligent, conscientious, and sustainable design.