SmithGroup Inc. 500 Griswold Street, Suite 1700 Detroit, Michigan48226 United States Phone: 313-983-3600 Email:www.smithgroup.com
SmithGroup Inc.
Paul Johnson hasn’t achieved it yet, but the Principal architect for SmithGroup Inc., says striving for perfection, while working for one of the nation’s largest architecture and engineering firms, has always been a professional goal.
“I am 57: there’s a whole lot left to learn,” Johnson says. “I haven’t done that perfect building, but I got a long time left to work and lot of opportunity for the perfect home.”
Johnson, who was recently elected to the Fellow of American Institute of Architects (AIA), is the Architect of the Month for the July issue of Architectural Roofing & Waterproofing. “Architecture is like the perfect storm: they all get built and they all get grief,” he says. “There are opportunities to be perfect.”
Johnson, who is part of the SmithGroup’s Building Technology Studio in Detroit, was promoted earlier this year to Fellow of the American Institute of Architects: the only AIA Detroit Chapter member to be honored in 2007.
“In my case, you have to participate and have the right credentials,” Johnson says of the AIA designation. “It boils down to your professional bio for your career. AIA has guidelines that are specific. They had to go through a jury of other architects. They sort of cut and take a look, and vote. It’s basically recognizes significant contributions to the practice; mine is in construction and technology.”
Johnson says his professional search for perfection is tied to an emphasis on building evaluations, exterior enclosure systems; and roofs and waterproofing, which include evaluation, testing, failure analysis, and corrective concept development and implementation.
“My career just got to this point,” Johnson says. “First, I was a project architect responsible for getting buildings constructed. I was paying more attention to exterior envelope, areas that are significant to owners and contractors.”
Johnson’s extensive experience in architecture and construction includes all phases of project development, preparation of contract documents, construction contract negotiations construction contract administration and construction quality assurance programs.
“I spent a whole lot of time in the field with these systems,” he says. “I’ve worked with some great mentors: Chuck Parise (who started the Building Technology Studio at SmithGroup) and Tom O’Connor (who inherited it). They both are Fellows of AIA. They both taught me what this side of the business is about by seeing problems on both sides of the table. This company gives us the opportunity to go further than our analysis of problems.”
Nationwide projects that highlight Johnson’s expertise in the area of exterior enclosure systems include: GSA Des Moines (Iowa) Federal Building, Façade Repair (a recent GSA Design Excellence Award winner), Des Moines, Iowa; Tower Plaza Curtain Wall, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Kennedy Federal Building, Window and Curtain Wall Replacement, Boston, Mass.; and the Detroit Institute of Arts, Glass Remediation Program.
“My career has given me an opportunity to get involved with big projects,” Johnson says. “McNamara Terminal roof at Metro Airport and Ford Field roof, which is one of the biggest ones around town; Detroit Institute of Arts, very complicated.”
At Detroit Metro Airport, Johnson says the rooftop on the McNamara Terminal is nearly one mile long. “We still had problems to solve,” he says. “The two big issues were: we were going to build a mile-long roof that would have to deal with jet fuel, snow slides. The question was: do we want to paint a metal roof or not? The recommendation was stainless steel so not to worry about maintenance. The gutters were large enough to accept snow and ice. Came to conclusion that it would be stainless steel gutter opposed to lined gutter with a membrane. This caused a whole lot of discussion and soul searching before they were accepted and committed to.”
At McNamara Terminal, the roof was roll formed in what amounted to a trailer on the site. “It was curved and moved up from a conveyer belt 100 feet long,” Johnson says. “Only had seams along long access points where geometry changes. At the time we did that roof that was new technology. We designed three different roof systems. Five years later and the newer roof they put on is similar but with some differences with addition.”
“With Ford Field, you have roofs on two different buildings there,” Johnson says. “A new field with a thermo plastic roof about 6 1/2 acres. Gutters on each side, you could put a Volkswagen in there. Roof technology is really tricky with different tricks: no push me pull me, we have an air barrier on top of the metal deck to keep so when wind pulls outside you don’t get it inside. That building, just shear size made for a lot of interesting questions.”
“At 6 acres did we need expansion joints on thermo-plastic roofs? Pretty small. The other half is office type construction (flat roofing). Rich Gagnon at Schreiber in Detroit said we should put this in two phases. It ended up as a Modified Bitumen roof. Perfect example of how working together with roof contractor, the owner and architect works. You really don’t know what’s going to happen. Key is everyone knowing what the rules of business and physics, technology of roofing systems are.”
In addition to his work at SmithGroup, Johnson has contributed to technical journals, has presented to the Federal Facilities Council and ASTM, and participates in the development of construction standards through ASTM committees, including his experience as an editor for an ASTM publication.
“I’m a pedantic, a person who has to tell other people what they know,” Johnson says. “My wife says I’m a teacher. What happens when you publish things? Makes you think real heard. What the real answers are before we put them into the public: a good tool at educating yourself. Other business reasons, good for business. Real value is what you learn yourself. Evaluate what you think you know.”
Johnson grew up in Taylor, Mich., after he was born in Kentucky. “My parents came here for work: in 1950 the opportunities were better in Michigan,” Johnson says. “Most everyone came to Michigan looking for the same opportunities.”
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Mich. He is a Registered Architect in three states including Michigan, New York and Iowa. He is also NCARB Certified and a CCS-Certified Construction Specifier.
Johnson is also an active member of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the Michigan Society of Architects, American Institute of Architects, International Code Council, The Masonry Society, National Roofing Contractors Association, Masonry Institute of Michigan Story Pole Magazine Advisory Board and the Great Lakes Chapter of Roof Consultants Institute.
The company he works for, SmithGroup (www.smithgroup.com); is composed of client industry-focused practices serving the healthcare, learning, workplace and science and technology markets. It has offices in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Chicago; Los Angeles; Madison, Wis.; Minneapolis; Phoenix; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C., with 800 employees nationwide. Established in 1853, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the U.S.
“We get a lot of opportunities to look at jobs,” Johnson says. “One of the most exciting things in my profession is pure review work of the exterior envelope for contractor owners. They hire us for design and technology and come down and give them our opinion what’s going on.” Perfection is in Paul Johnson’s professional book of things to do, but getting there is the fun part. “I’m striving to be perfect,” he says. “I have had great success here doing that.”
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