Values and Vision: Seattle’s Johnston Architects was, and still is, ahead of its time

Back when Ray and Mary Johnston launched their eponymous architecture firm, floppy disks were valuable office storage tools and 3D software – today common in architectural design – was still in beta testing.

The office environment has dramatically changed in those 30 years. Ray and Mary have not. They founded their company based on modern-day values of diversity, equity and inclusion, rejecting outdated norms and creating a safe space for women architects. It was a forward-thinking concept that continues to guide the firm. 

Their Seattle-based company, Johnston Architects, is now a rarity in the male-dominated architecture profession, recently adding two women partners to bring its partnership team to four women and two men. Ray and Mary’s daughter, Mona Zellers, is one of the partners. Two-thirds of staffers are women.

The 35-employee company is a full-service shop that has produced products in almost every genre, including single-family, multi-family, mixed-use, civic, hospitality and education. It made “Seattle Business” magazine’s annual list of 100 Best Companies To Work For in 2021.

“We are a little more horizontal perhaps in structure than most other firms,” Ray says. “I think our system really helps us to understand when people need a break from one thing they’re doing and help them find something to balance that. Maybe they learn another new skill or explore what they hadn’t had an opportunity to before.”

About half the current graduates of architectural programs in the U.S. are women, according to trade group AIA, but fewer than 20% of practicing architects identify as women. Few lead architectural firms.

Johnston has long had a family-first approach. It offers remote work options and flexible schedules and, several years ago, instituted a 12-week parental leave policy. Ray says he even knows the names of all of his employees’ children and pets.

Johnston Architects is also a JUST organization, a designation bestowed by the International Living Future Institute that seeks to measure social justice and equity in the workplace. The firm aggressively seeks out women-owned businesses with which to partner.

“We’ve always had a fair amount of personal interaction among the various people in the office,” Ray says. “We’ve formalized some of that.”

Every new employee gets an “onboarding” buddy and each employee has a mentor who checks in weekly as well. Johnston also has a program it calls “Thought Showers,” where executive-level staffers share knowledge informally.

Events for fun include regular happy hours, trivia contests, scavenger hunts and show-and-tell sessions. Employees are encouraged to dress up on “Fashion Fridays.”

“I love seeing this as a multi-generational endeavor and seeing [Johnston] live on for a long time,” Ray says.

He’s been headed in that direction for decades.