The Director

George B. Johnston, PhD

An architect and cultural historian, Johnston is nationally recognized for his scholarship on the architectural profession, and takes the helm after teaching at Georgia Tech for 25 years. His work focuses on the social, technological and cultural implications of making architecture in the American context, and his recent book, Drafting Culture: A Social History of Architectural Graphic Standards (MIT Press 2008), has been hailed for its provocative insights and its relevance to present controversies surrounding the advancement of architectural practice.

Johnston previously held positions of Associate Director and Interim Director of the Architecture Program, and currently teaches courses in architectural design and in the history and theory of architectural practice. He received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Mississippi State University in 1979, the Master of Architecture degree from Rice University in 1984, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree from Emory University in 2006 in the area of American Cultural History. Johnston is a registered architect and has practiced in firms in Mississippi, Texas and Georgia.