Daryl Johnson of Johnson Architecture On Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As An Architect

An Interview With Dina Aletras

Never rest on your laurels. You’re only as good as the projects you’re delivering to your clients today. Your expertise matters. Your portfolio matters as I mentioned earlier, but you must continue to grow and reinvent yourself as the times change, as your staff or experience changes. As technology advances, it will pose new challenges and offer some new opportunities for architects. I personally get excited about new ways we can create things for clients. I talked earlier about AI and some of the problems that can arise, but it also opens the door to creating immersive environments for clients, sometimes more affordably than doing it solely with structures.

As a part of my series about the ‘Five Things You Need To Know To Create A Highly Successful Career As An Architect,’ I had the pleasure of interviewing Daryl Johnson.

Daryl Johnson is president, principal architect and director of design at Johnson Architecture, which he founded in 1994 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Johnson specializes in complex, challenging projects with expertise in hand drawing, design charrettes, community master planning and entertainment complexes. A native of New Jersey, Johnson fell in love with Knoxville while attending the University of Tennessee, where he received his Bachelor of Architecture in 1984.

Thank you for joining us today! Can you share the story of what led you to pursue a career in architecture?

I never had any artistic ability as a child, and when I would ask my parents to help with anything, from a school project to a simple drawing, they couldn’t help either. I marveled at those that could draw, and back then you would see those “learn to draw” ads on matchbox covers and I always wanted to do that. At some point early, someone — I think my grandmother — gave me a Jon Gnagy Learn to Draw kit. I completed the assignment, a covered bridge, and it further sparked my love of drawing. That bridge hung in my grandmother’s bedroom until she passed. I have it now. In sixth grade, I took a mechanical drafting class, and it was on! My career goal never wavered from that point on.

What’s the most interesting or amusing experience you’ve had in your career so far, and what lesson did you learn from it?

There are many interesting, amusing and educational moments that I have experienced in an over 40-year career. One of the most interesting may have been a client who approached Johnson Architecture in the mid-1990s to design a “complex” of homes on 400 acres just outside of Selma, Alabama. There were numerous “red flags” along the way, such as underground tunnels connecting the various buildings, an observation tower from which the client could “shoot deer,” and other unusual design requests. At some point, the client stopped paying us and completely disappeared. After some time away, he filed a completely frivolous claim against our firm for fees that he had paid — and that we had worked for. We counter-filed a claim for fees unpaid. After depositions, the client again disappeared, and we never heard from him again … that is, until I received a call from the U.S. Secret Service! Apparently, he had been running a Ponzi scheme.

Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you share a story about how it has been relevant in your life?

I would have to say that “Listen, then draw” would be my most appropriate life lesson quote. When I started Johnson Architecture, this was my mission statement and has remained so for 30 years. What I didn’t realize at the time, was how the structural nuances of these three words actually apply to everything in life.

Can you describe a recent project you completed and what your specific contributions were?

I find myself more and more in an early design and consulting role advising clients about development strategies, pitfalls and advantages. Recently, we were hired to provide design services for an existing 1970s mall in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. After an on-site design charette, I worked closely with the client to establish creative “advantages” for the property such as retail strategies, additional development expansion ideas and thematic applications that will be specifically focused on differentiating this property from others in the Myrtle Beach marketplace. Essentially, I bring large-scale planning and development expertise based on 40 years of experience in unique markets.

How do you approach balancing aesthetics and functionality in your designs?

Functionality always comes first. If you’re a good designer, a design’s aesthetics are a byproduct of the function. There are some architects and designers out there that have the talent and experience to accomplish both. I have built a firm that specializes in addressing the functional needs of our clients. I have little patience for those that identify a project to win a design award regardless of what the client wants or needs.

What strategies do you use to ensure effective communication and collaboration with clients and other stakeholders throughout a project?

It has taken years of hard lessons, but our best method of effective communication with our clients and project stakeholders is to have more than one Johnson Architecture representative in the room during important progress meetings and events. Many times, decisions are made, tasks are assigned, or follow-up is required, and if it is not documented and subsequently distributed to all parties, important details can fall through the cracks.

Can you discuss a time when you had to resolve a major issue during a project and how you handled it?

Every project is riddled with landmines and navigating them is crucial to a design firm’s success. We have always been a firm that gives our clients 110% and stands by them through every challenging aspect. We recently had a large development with a past client who unilaterally selected a contractor from out of town. The construction issues started early and were numerous, to a point where a two-year project took almost four years to complete. When we reached a point where our fees and contractual time frame had been reached, we informed the client that we were going to continue our services, as needed, until the project finished. This is NOT a very good business model, and I wouldn’t recommend it to younger, less established firms, but it was something that we ethically felt obligated to do.

No one achieves success alone. Is there someone who has been particularly instrumental in your career? Can you share a story about their impact on your journey?

I will always name my parents as my sole support system through childhood and much of my career. The work ethic they have instilled in me, which I can see in my children thankfully, has been instrumental in not only the success of JAI, but also the “never give up” attitude works well in life, too.

As a professional, there are many that I have looked up to and admired from architect colleagues, contractors and clients. Each of them has influenced me or my career in various ways. I would name Sandy Beall (ex-CEO of Ruby Tuesday, Inc.) as an early supporter who took a chance on a young architect on an Easter Sunday in 1995. I would also recognize Charlie Smith, AIA, and the late Glenn Bullock, FAIA, of Bullock Smith and Partners; J. Robert Hillier, FAIA, my first “boss” in Princeton, New Jersey; my college roommate Major General Jeffrey H. Holmes, AIA; and local contractor, the late Charles “Chuck” Alexander.

As a successful business leader, which three character traits have been most crucial to your success? Can you share a story or example for each?

Honesty. I have always believed in being honest with both employees and clients. If we ever discover an error has occurred, we are transparent about it without having to be asked and we always make it right.

Ethics. The ethical standards of architecture can be compromised due to a variety of factors, but I have found the primary culprit to be competition. Many talented architects have worked for JAI over the past 30 years, and many talented architects have left to work for competitors and in some cases, started their own firms. Tom Peters, in his book “The Pursuit of WOW!” noted that “today’s laurels are tomorrow’s compost,” and I strive to convey this principle within JAI. When others leave, we always take the high road and wish them well, support their efforts and move on to our next challenges. If others are worried about those departed employees “stealing secrets,” we use the experience to help us reinvent and morph into the next best version of JAI. In several instances, those employees that have left us appreciated our fairness and ethical approach and have come back years later as principals or owners of firms and requested to team with us to pursue certain projects. I believe that this fair and ethical approach not only allows us to have those types of long-term relationships, but also forces us to be constantly ‘reinventing’ ourselves.

Loyalty. I still believe in the ‘old school’ concepts of loyalty and in many cases would enjoy doing work on a handshake again. Although we can’t exactly do that any longer, we do enjoy the loyalty of our clients and our staff. A few years after starting JAI, a client told me that the relationships that we create, if we’re doing our job and living up to our promises, should last our lifetimes. The loyalty that we show those that we deal with should reap benefits for many years. This is evident with our firm, and we can boast that we still have clients (now friends) that were a part of that early formation of our firm. Several clients continue to contact us for their needs, and we believe that their loyalty to our team is a direct result of our loyalty to theirs. Recently, a client of several years made the comment in an interview for a large higher education project that “there’s a reason JAI has clients that have worked with them for 30 years. It is evident in their work and in their loyalty to their clients and staff.”

Thank you for sharing all that. Now, let’s delve into the core of our interview. What are three things that excite you most about architecture and the real estate industry? Can you share a story or example for each?

1. There is a lot of enthusiasm right now for breathing new life into historic structures as community spaces. We just finished a project, the Kern’s Food Hall in Knoxville. It’s a historic structure, and the 1930s-era Kern’s Bakery had a lot of meaning to the community but had been abandoned for nearly two decades. We kept the historic character and designed a food hall that also has retail, bars and an outdoor lawn where people gather. It’s more than just eating sushi. People are having a beer sitting outside with their dog. It was full of revelers watching the Tennessee Vols win the College World Series on a Monday night in late June.
2. That’s another trend that we’re seeing. People want more than just a restaurant or retail store. They’re looking for more of a retail dining entertainment destination. We’re working on several of those right now, creating entertainment complexes with more to offer in Myrtle Beach and Clarksville and Claiborne County in Tennessee.
3. These initiatives frequently include historic preservation, which is encouraging to see. There is more interest in saving old structures, bringing back some of the building’s former glory and creating new community spaces where people can find connection.

What are three things that concern you about the industry? If you could implement three changes to improve it, what would they be? Please share any relevant stories or examples.

The biggest thing that concerns me is escalating costs. The expense of building just continues to climb. From materials to labor, the cost keeps growing and eventually it will become prohibitive.

Another thing is artificial intelligence. I’m not concerned it will supplant architects. I’m more worried about the products and designs being created that aren’t based in reality and the nuances of what a structure really entails. Architects will have to come in afterwards and clean up the mess and make it work in the real world.

I also think AI can change the industry in good ways. You see young people who have cut their teeth designing on gaming platforms. These are the young people who can design alternative reality that will be great for the industry. Just imagine a themed reality experience that puts you into Total Recall, Jurassic Park or Dinotopia. Imagine those immersive experiences that you can change relatively easily. You could transfer through portals that give the impression of traveling through time and spit you out into an alternate reality.

We can do some of this now with immersive video screens. We were talking with a client about this recently. Using video screens on the walls and ceiling, we can create waves and it feels like you’re underwater with fish on both sides and on top of you. Then you walk out and see this element of a waterfall streaming down the wall and onto the floor around boulders with people seated and that’s when you realize it’s not water at all. These are the kinds of experiences where I can see AI helping to make exciting strides in the industry.

Here’s the key question of our interview: What are the five things you believe are essential for creating a highly successful career as an architect? Can you share a story or example for each?

1. Listen proactively — As a young architect, I would be in a meeting with a client, and I could tell my boss was just waiting for his turn to say the next thing instead of really listening to what the client was saying. I immediately decided I didn’t want to do that. Our motto is “Listen. Then draw.” We really mean it. I pride myself on proactively listening to what our clients want to achieve and then adding in my own expertise, the things in my experience that can really make the client’s project special.
2. Diversify your portfolio — I’ve seen some architectural firms that have a benefactor client that keeps them in business with retail strip centers or hotels, and then the bottom falls out of the economy and all your portfolio contains is hotels and strip malls when no one is building those. When I started, I even offered to do some projects at a reduced rate to build a diverse portfolio of projects, so now we’ve done more than 100 churches, more than 100 restaurants, we’ve done schools, community centers, entertainment and themed retail, custom homes. Having wide-ranging expertise helps an architect make new connections and withstand economic downturns.
3. Conduct yourself with integrity. A lot of architects talk about legacy as the projects they leave behind. For me, I’ll be happy if I’m known as an honest, ethical and loyal person who treated people well. As an architect, your ability to deliver what is promised and treat people fairly is more important than brilliant design, and if I’m remembered as being a good guy, that’s enough for me.
4. Family and faith supersede career — A lot of business leaders profess this as a value, but then have different expectations for employees. I always want young architects joining Johnson Architecture to know that no matter what we may ask of you, we understand that your family and your faith come first. Sure, we want to deliver and there are times we may work late on a project, but unless it’s really crunch time, I don’t want to see you in the office at 7 p.m.
5. Never rest on your laurels. You’re only as good as the projects you’re delivering to your clients today. Your expertise matters. Your portfolio matters as I mentioned earlier, but you must continue to grow and reinvent yourself as the times change, as your staff or experience changes. As technology advances, it will pose new challenges and offer some new opportunities for architects. I personally get excited about new ways we can create things for clients. I talked earlier about AI and some of the problems that can arise, but it also opens the door to creating immersive environments for clients, sometimes more affordably than doing it solely with structures.

Given your influence, if you could inspire a movement to bring the best results and solutions to the greatest number of people, what would it be? You never know what impact your idea might have!

I would challenge architects and developers to push the envelope a little to create unique spaces. Before graduating from college, I was a games and attraction supervisor at a theme park, so I had some back-of-the-house experience in the entertainment industry, and I’m never more excited than when I’m designing ways to dovetail entertainment-themed retail dining in with normal architecture to create unique experiences and spaces for the user. Most parents can’t pick up and go to Disney World or Six Flags on a weekend so they can experience that sort of fascination with fantasy.

But we’re starting to create the ability to run down the road to a store or restaurant and have a unique experience. With our work at Dollywood, Downtown Clarksville or Myrtle Beach, we’re constantly trying to push the envelope of conventional thinking. Maybe the project is a strip mall with a phone store and a sandwich shop, but I will still push for something different. Maybe part of it is a 1920s streetscape. We’re really being sought after for that level of expertise in that planning ability to really push out and do something creative and different. I’m 63. I’ve led my own firm for 30 years and I’m proud we’re now recognized as an industry leader in these kinds of entertainment district developments.

Thank you for your time and excellent insights! We wish you continued success.

About the Interviewer: Dina Aletras boasts over 20 years of expertise in the corporate media industry. She possesses an in-depth understanding of growth, strategy, and leadership, having held significant roles at some of the UK’s largest media organizations. At Reach PLC, the UK’s largest tabloid publisher, she served in various director capacities. Additionally, she held leadership roles at The Independent Magazine Group and DMGT. Her extensive knowledge spans editorial, digital, revenue, sales, and advertising.

Upon relocating to Switzerland, Dina took on the responsibility of managing and promoting the international section of Corriere del Ticino — CdT.ch pioneering the English page “onthespot.” She also was the Co-Editor of Southern Switzerland’s first official Italian and English bilingual magazine.