Mark Johnson

Biography

Mark Johnson is a leading landscape architect and urban designer known for his creative approach and broad experience in the design of public spaces and institutional landscapes across the country. As a principal of Civitas his work has gained recognition for Civitas as a firm that is setting new directions in landscape architecture. With this background in urban design, he emphasizes the opportunities for people to find exciting, enjoyable places in the city as a critical counterpoint to conventional urban spaces.

Mark has played a leadership role in many significant recent projects in the Rocky Mountain region including principal designer for the new Denver International Airport Landscape, a multibillion dollar project designed to expose millions of visitors annually to the diverse beauty of Denver and its region. He is also principal urban designer for the RTD Metro Areas Connection Light Rail line in central Denver and principal in charge of landscape design for the Clark County Government Center in Las Vegas. Perhaps his most prominent local work has been as designer of the campus master plan and reconstruction of the Auraria Higher Education Center in downtown Denver. He has been responsible for site designs of corporate facilities, streetscapes, campuses, and redevelopment plans which are significant and appropriate to their regional environments across the country. Mark is also leading the urban design charge for the rehabilitation of the Los Angeles River into an open space amenity for the community.

Mark maintains an active role in the development of design thinking and professional affairs. His contributions include numerous lectures, three AIA R UDAT teams and service as juror for both the national Award Program of American Society of Landscape Architects and the Colorado Chapter ASLA Design Awards. He is a frequent visiting critic, serving at the University of Pennsylvania, Utah State University and the University of Colorado. In 1992 he was made chairman of the Editorial Advisory Committee of Landscape Architecture magazine and was a speaker at the Denver Art Museum lecture series and the Utah Design Arts Council Symposium.

Mr. Johnson’s education includes a Master’s in Urban Design with Distinction from Harvard University (1982) and a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Magna Cum Laude from Utah State University (1975).