The William J. Johnson papers document the professional and academic career of U-M faculty member and landscape architect William J. Johnson. Material is dated from 1953-2015 and includes clippings, correspondence, notes, photographic material, project files, publications, reports, reference and research files, teaching materials, and topical files.
William "Bill" Joseph Johnson was born on November 15, 1931, in Lansing, Michigan to Ethel and Ruben Johnson. After graduating from Lansing's J.W. Sexton High School, Johnson matriculated to Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science (now Michigan State University, or MSU) in 1949. While a student there, Johnson worked for several organizations, including the college's Office of Campus Site Planning. After graduating with his Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture in 1953, Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1954 and served in Western Europe as a member of U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR). He eventually attained the rank of First Lieutenant and was discharged in 1956.
After working in short-term jobs at Michigan State College and the Detroit, Michigan City Plan Commission, Johnson relocated to Boston, Massachusetts and enrolled in Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (GSD) in 1956. While at Harvard, he formed close relationships with Peter Walker and Hideo Sasaki, both of whom who would have an impact on his professional career; worked at Sasaki & Associates in Watertown, Massachusetts; and taught a special course at the GSD on rendering techniques. After graduating from the GSD in 1957 with his Master of Landscape Architecture, Johnson worked for the Detroit, Michigan-based Eichstedt-Johnson Associates landscape firm.
In 1958, Johnson was appointed Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Michigan's College of Architecture and Design. He resigned his position at Eichstedt-Johnson Associates the following year. In addition to his academic responsibilities, which included teaching at other universities and strengthening U-M's landscape architecture program, Johnson continued to work in different professional architectural firms. One such firm was Johnson, Johnson, & Roy (JJR), a company originally based in Ann Arbor, Michigan that he co-founded alongside his brother, Carl Johnson, and Clarence Roy in the early 1960s. JJR's projects during Johnson's tenure included the development of several long-range campus plans for the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus. By 1963, Johnson had also attained the rank of Professor of Landscape Architecture.
In 1975, Johnson took a 5-year leave of absence from JJR to serve as the Dean of U-M's School of Natural Resources (SNR). During his tenure, the school overcame significant budget challenges and underwent numerous changes that included embracing a more multi-disciplinary approach to natural resource management and environmental issues in the field. Johnson officially left JJR in 1980, stepped down as SNR dean in 1983, and retired from U-M in 1988. In 1989, the University of Michigan Regents named him Dean Emeritus of the School of Natural Resources and Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture.
In 1980, Johnson established another Ann Arbor company, William J. Johnson Associates, Inc. (WJJ). In 1992, he traveled to California and merged WJJ with Peter Walker's firm to form Peter Walker William Johnson and Partners (PWWJ). After their partnership concluded in 1997, Johnson relocated to Seattle, Washington, and established William Johnson Studio. He also worked with and consulted for the Seattle branch of the architectural firm NBBJ. By 2015, Johnson had relocated to Holland, MI.
Johnson has written or co-authored numerous reports, spoken widely at different institutions, and participated in a variety of organizations over the course of his career. Of note was his work with the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). He served on different ASLA committees and task forces and was also involved in a study cosponsored by ASLA that examined the landscape architecture profession and its evolving place in American society. In addition, he served as the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) president in 1992.
Johnson's accolades include the receipt the ASLA Certificate of Merit (1953), Michigan State College Alumni Award (1953), and Harvard's Charles Eliot Traveling Fellowship (given in 1958). ASLA inducted Johnson as a fellow in 1973 and awarded him the ASLA Gold Medal—the organization's most prestigious award—in 1986. More recently, Johnson received the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and the LAF Medal in 2020.
