Michael Johns, FAIA Selected as 2024 John Frederick Harbeson Award Recipient

Congratulations to Michael Johns, FAIA on being selected as the 2024 John Frederick Harbeson Award Recipient.

The John Frederick Harbeson Award is presented annually to a long-standing member of the architectural community and is intended to recognize their significant contributions to the architectural profession and its related disciplines over their lifetime. The recipient of this award will distinguish themselves throughout their career by their contributions to the architectural profession, the American Institute of Architects, the education of the architectural community, and their contributions to the Philadelphia community at large.

Michael Johns, FAIA, NOMA, LEED-AP 

Michael Johns a Philadelphia native and licensed architect in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, established his firm Mdesigns + MWJ Consulting LLC as a Philadelphia based Architecture, Planning and Development consulting firm specializing in assisting Public, Private and Non-Profit sector clients in residential, retail, and commercial master planning and land development related activities.  

Simultaneously, while running his practice, Mr. Johns also provided over 25 years of service to the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA), where he transitioned from in 2017 to focus on his firm. During his tenure at PHA, he was successful in various executive leadership roles including Senior Executive Vice President, overseeing PHA’s Capital Projects, Master Planning /Development, and Design Initiatives. Mr. Johns also served in the capacities of Chief Operating Officer and Executive General Manager for Operations. While at PHA he was responsible for the master planning, design, and development of over $2 Billion in new and renovated multifamily housing including recreational, commercial and office facilities.    

Michael is a graduate of Temple University and is a (LEED)-Accredited Professional. He served as a Commissioner on Philadelphia’s City Zoning Code Reform Commission where he helped rewrite and modernize the antiquated code. He was an inaugural member and Chairperson of Philadelphia’s Civic Design Review Committee (CDR), which is responsible for assessing the proposed characteristics and quality of the public realm that is an integral part of any large development project. He currently sits on the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustments (ZBA). Mr. Johns is an advisory board member for Philadelphia’s Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), an organization which provides technical and financial support to local grassroots partners and developers. He also is a member of the advisory council for the Community Design Collaborative, and he is a member of the Urban Land Institute. In addition, in 2021 Mr. Johns was elected as Director of Equitable Communities for the Philadelphia Chapter American Institute of Architects (AIA). 

He is a member of Philadelphia’s Land Bank Board, and also Philadelphia’s first Rebuild Design Excellence Sub-Committee, which is responsible for ensuring that city-sponsored significant park and recreation facility redevelopment projects meet the highest standards for quality impactful design. In January 2022 Mr. Johns was nominated by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to sit on the State’s Architect’s Licensure Board. Most recently Michael was appointed to the Philadelphia Accelerator Fund Board (PAF) which is a nonprofit loan fund created in 2019 to invest in affordable housing and equitable neighborhoods for Philadelphia. Other boards and committees he’s sat on include the Philadelphia Housing Trust Fund, the Philadelphia Planning Commission, and member of the former committee on Inclusionary Zoning for Philadelphia; and former Board of Director for the Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVCBC); and the Building Code Institute.  

February 2019 Mr. Johns was elevated to the American institute of Architects (AIA) college of Fellows. AIA Fellows.  Mr. Johns received the 2018 award from the National Organization of Minority Architects, Philadelphia Chapter (Phila-NOMA) for his significant positive impact on Philadelphia’s neighborhoods over the past 25 years.  

Mr. Johns was also a founding member and a past president of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects. He is a registered member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Pennsylvania Society of Architects.   

In addition, for more than two decades Mr. Johns has lectured and provided training on affordable housing development and design, along with planning in urban neighborhoods.   

Mr. Johns’ dedication, commitment, and integrity speak for itself when one witnesses the positive outcomes from the influence, he has had over the revitalization of many of Philadelphia’s poorest and often forgotten neighborhoods. 

Check out the awardee video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcyiBF8WomE