In Remembrance: William J. Johnson, FASLA

September 18, 2024

We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Bill Johnson on September 10, 2024. Bill was a great friend and long-time supporter of the Landscape Architecture Foundation. He served on the LAF Board of Directors from 1987 to 1996, leading as President in 1992.

Bill was known for his analytical thinking and his ability to express complex ideas through insightful drawings. Shortly after co-founding JJR, he was commissioned to draft the University of Michigan’s master plan, which helped establish the firm and led to work throughout the Midwest and East Coast. In addition to his professional practice with JJR, as William J. Johnson Associates, and in partnership with Peter Walker, Johnson was a professor of landscape architecture for 30 years and Dean of the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources for 8 years.

In 2020, he was awarded LAF’s highest honor for an individual, the LAF Medal, in recognition of his groundbreaking integration of planning, analysis, and landscape architecture as well as his commitment to education. When he joined us for a virtual recognition event and panel discussion in 2021, it was a bright spot for us during those difficult days of the pandemic. To celebrate his award, members of the LAF community submitted video tributes to Bill, which can be viewed below.

More about Bill’s life and legacy can be found in his life story/obituary. In 2017, he was the subject of an in-depth oral history from The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

LAF is honored and deeply grateful for the family’s request to make donations to LAF in lieu of flowers. Through our work to support those pushing the boundaries of the landscape architecture discipline and cultivate the next generation of designers, we are proud to continue Bill’s legacy.

2020 LAF Medal Tribute Video