Mr. Johnpaul Jones: Biography in Short....

Johnpaul Jones has a distinguished 40-year career as an architect and founding partner of Jones & Jones. Earning his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oregon in 1967, his design philosophy emerged from his Cherokee-Choctaw ancestors, which connects him to the natural world, animal world, spirit world, and human world.

Mr. Jones’ designs have won widespread acclaim for their reverence for the earth, for paying deep respect to regional architectural traditions and native landscapes, and for heightening understanding of indigenous people and cultures of America. Johnpaul has led the design of numerous cultural centers and museums with tribes spanning the North American continent, culminating in his 12-year engagement as overall lead design consultant for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

In the late 1970’s Johnpaul’s designs helped alter the direction of zoological design by blending architecture and landscape architecture to create more natural environments for “captive animals,” and to help educate the public about the animal and natural world around us.

A Fellow in the American Institute of Architects, his designs have won a stream of local and national awards. In 2006, Johnpaul received the AIA Seattle Medal, conferred by the Seattle Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, for his leadership in design. He was also the recipient of the 2006 Executive Excellence Award from the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). In 2005, Johnpaul returned to receive the University of Oregon Distinguished Service Award from his alma mater for “not just designing buildings, but creating places that incorporate both the practical and the spiritual, and for heightening human sensitivity to cultural and environmental issues.”