The work of Johnsen Schmaling Architects represents a unique synthesis of conceptual rigor, technical know-how, and an unsurpassed attention to detail. Specializing in high-end residential and commercial design, Johnsen Schmaling Architects offers a full range of architectural and design services, from masterplanning and schematic design to construction administration, furniture design and graphics. A thorough understanding of site and program for each individual project, combined with a passionate interest in materiality and building technology, lead to innovative and environmentally sustainable design solutions with uncompromising artistic integrity.
The two founding principals, Brian Johnsen and Sebastian Schmaling, have been widely recognized as distinctive emerging voices in contemporary American architecture. Recent honors include an Emerging Voices Award from the Architectural League of New York, an Annual Design Review Award from Architect Magazine, four National AIA Housing Design Awards, four National AIA Small Project Honor Awards, an AIA/COTE “Top Ten Green Projects“ Award, twelve regional AIA Honor and Merit Awards, a Record Interiors Award, a 2008 Contract Award for Public Spaces, as well as several Project of the Year Awards from Residential Architect and Custom Home magazines. In 2011, Architectural Record selected Johnsen Schmaling Architects as one of ten emerging global studios for its prestigious Design Vanguard issue. Johnsen Schmaling’s projects and texts have been featured in countless books and exhibitions as well as in leading national and international design periodicals, including Architectural Review, Metropolis, Architectural Record, Dwell, Detail, Harvard Design Magazine, Azure, Plan, Interior Design, GreenSource, The New York Times, Hauser, Architectural Lighting, Frame, Bauwelt, Monitor, Vision, D Casa, and Competitions.
Brian Johnsen, AIA, NCARB, grew up in Chicago and received a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Sebastian Schmaling, AIA, LEED AP, is originally from Berlin and received a Master of Architecture and Urban Design from Harvard University, where he graduated with distinction; a Master of Architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; and a Dipl. Ing. Architektur degree from the Technical University Berlin. Both Johnsen and Schmaling are registered architects and frequently lecture on their work in the United States and abroad. In addition, they continue to teach design at architecture schools around the country, most recently as visiting professors at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Toronto.
