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Remembering Carol R. Johnson

Carol R. Johnson, founder of what became one of the largest woman-owned landscape architecture practices in the United States, died December 11, 2020

Carol Johnson camping, 1951
Carol Johnson camping, 1951 - Photo courtesy Carol Johnson

"Carol R. Johnson, founder of what became one of the largest woman-owned landscape architecture practices in the United States, died December 11, 2020, in Boothbay Harbor, ME; she was 91. She began her career with small residential commissions, then public housing projects and college campuses, followed by civic and corporate work in the U.S. and abroad.

When she founded her Cambridge, MA-based firm in 1959 – a drafting table in her apartment – there were few women landscape architects working on urban design and planning issues.  Early in her career she lost her first opportunity to be a prime consultant on a landscape project. It was Cambridge Common near Harvard Square. Johnson recalls one of the decision makers said: “We gave it to two good men rather than one good woman.” There were also few male landscape architects who would choose to work for a talented woman landscape architect, when they had opportunities to work for talented men.  As a result, her earliest employees included artists and sculptors who, under her tutelage, learned the art, science and craft of landscape architecture.  

Along with her work as a landscape architect, Johnson also made her mark as an educator at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (GSD) and as a role model for women in the profession. Landscape architect Marion Pressley, who worked for Johnson from 1969-1983, recalls in one of her first days on the job Johnson said: “Marion … we’re women. And it is important to realize that we have to be twice as good as men at anything we do. So, you always have to be positive and you always have to do your very best because that’s what it’s about. We have to defend ourselves.” Pressley said: “I took it to heart.” ..."

Carol Johnson and design team meeting about Old Harbor Park, Boston, MA
Carol Johnson and design team meeting about Old Harbor Park, Boston, MA - Photo courtesy Carol Johnson

"At Harvard’s GSD, Johnson attributed her personal growth to professors Serge Chermeyoff, Hideo Sasaki, Norman Newton, and Walter Chambers.  Later she would recall that they all gave her their time and attention.  From these mentors, she gained confidence, and an understanding of design. In particular, her studies under Sigfried Giedion, the author of Space, Time, and Architecture (1941), would be a great influence on her attitudes toward urban design.  Also, during this time, Johnson became familiar with collaborative design processes and environmentally sensitive landscape design – two concepts that formed the foundation of her design approach and ethic.  She earned her degree from Harvard in 1957.

Between 1955 and 1958, Johnson acquired her earliest professional experience, initially with the Bucks County Park Board in Doylestown, PA; and subsequently with engineering and planning firms in the greater Boston area. In September 1958, she was one of the first landscape architects to be hired by The Architects Collaborative (TAC), the renowned architectural practice founded by Walter Gropius in Cambridge, MA.  Despite the prestige of her position, and with the encouragement of colleagues, she left TAC after only one year to start her own practice, taking advantage of projects offered to her through her Wellesley and Harvard contacts.

Johnson did have opportunities that were unusual for a woman, such as her first foreign project, the landscape associated with the U.S. Pavilion at Montreal’s Expo ’67, where she collaborated with Buckminster Fuller and Cambridge Seven Associates. "

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