JOHNSTON MARKLEE ARCHITECTURE
RAY Presents: The School of Architecture (TSOA) In Conversation With Sharon Johnston (Johnston Marklee)
Photo Credit: William Jess Laird
RAY Presents: The School of Architecture (TSOA) in conversation with Sharon Johnston (Johnston Marklee)
Join Sharon Johnston, founding partner of Johnston Marklee, for a lecture and conversation at RAY Phoenix, presented in collaboration with The School of Architecture (TSOA).
Moderated by TSOA President Chris Lasch alongside students from the school, the conversation will center on Johnston Marklee’s approach to architecture, tracing the firm’s trajectory from early residential projects to prominent arts institutions like the Menil Drawing Institute, the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. That thread leads to RAY Phoenix and Johnston’s approach to designing for the desert: the building’s green facade, its response to desert light, and the role of shade, landscape, art, and shared spaces in connecting the building to Roosevelt Row and the city around it.
RAY is a residential and cultural brand that brings together architecture, art, design, and community. Each property is conceived in response to its city, with architecture by leading design firms, integrated contemporary art, public-facing spaces, and cultural programming. At RAY Phoenix, that approach comes together in a 26-story residential building designed for the desert and for the creative energy of Roosevelt Row.
This conversation is presented with the generous support of Kohler.
EVENT DETAILS
October 11, 2026
2pm - 4pm
Doors open at 2:00pm, Conversation from 2:30 to 4:00pm
Reception to follow. Light bites and refreshments will be served.
RAY Phoenix
777 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Cost: $40
JOHNSTON MARKLEE
Sharon Johnston
Sharon Johnston, FAIA, is a partner of Johnston Marklee & Associates, based in Los Angeles. Since its establishment in 1998, Johnston Marklee has been recognized nationally and internationally with over 50 major awards. A book on the work of the firm, entitled HOUSE IS A HOUSE IS A HOUSE IS A HOUSE IS A HOUSE, was published by Birkhauser in 2016. Monographs include: 2G N. 67, El Croquis N. 198, and A+U N. 614.
Sharon has taught as Professor in Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Design; as well as Princeton University and the University of California, Los Angeles; and has held the Cullinan Chair at Rice University and the Frank Gehry International Chair at the University of Toronto.
Projects undertaken by Johnston Marklee are diverse in scale and type, spanning fourteen countries throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Recent projects include the Menil Drawing Institute, on the campus of the Menil Collection, which opened in November 2018; a renovation of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, completed in September 2017; the new UCLA Graduate Art Studios campus in Culver City, California; and the design of the new Dropbox global headquarters in San Francisco, California.
The firm’s work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Menil Collection, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the Architecture Museum of TU Munich.
Together with partner Mark Lee, Sharon was the Artistic Director of the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial.
RAY PHOENIX
RAY Phoenix is located in the Roosevelt Row Arts District and brings together residential living, art, culture, design, and community. RAY describes itself as “more than a building. It’s a place,” with apartments, shared amenity spaces, ground-floor retail, and Studio 105, its exhibition and event space along Central Avenue. Throughout the building, work by local and international, emerging and established artists is integrated alongside spaces for gathering, conversation, and connection. The design uses natural materials and a restrained palette, with light-filled interiors, native plants, gardens, and indoor-outdoor spaces. Designed by Johnston Marklee in partnership with Lamar Johnson Collaborative, the architecture uses a textured green palette animated by the changing light and shadow of the desert sky, while the landscape by Grace Fuller Design emphasizes native species and an ecologically appropriate approach to the desert. Together, the architecture, landscape, interiors, art, and programming create a living and gathering place for artists, entrepreneurs, and creative people in downtown Phoenix.
Photos: William Jess Laird
THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE (TSOA)
The School of Architecture is a living experiment in architectural education. Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s visionary principles, today the school has evolved into something even more daring: an immersive design education where students build, live, and lead the future of architecture. We’re cultivating a new kind of architect: the citizen designer – a visionary builder who creates not only structures, but stronger communities. They apply bold design experimentation to rethink architecture from the ground up.
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