Kenneth E. Johnson, Architect and Engineer. After a 45-year practice as an architect in Atlanta, he and his wife Sylvia moved to Madison, GA, in 2004, where he restored and lived contentedly in a Georgian-style cottage in the Historic District. But his Modern design roots went deep, and he was pleased that his favorite designs survive. These evoked his admiration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s principle of bringing Nature indoors, and include the Morrison-Coghlin residence in Buckhead, the C&S bank (Bank of America) on Roswell Rd., and the Central Congregational Church on Briarcliff Rd.

After volunteering for vocational training at Orlando High School to help the war effort in the 1940’s, he worked in the drafting room of Babcock Aircraft Company. He enlisted in the Navy and was sent to Georgia Tech to study engineering. Following active duty, he returned to Tech and received his degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1948. He worked for a variety of firms as a licensed mechanical engineer, including Robert and Company and Toombs, Amisano & Wells, while going to night school at Tech’s College of Architecture. He became a licensed architect in December 1955, and opened his private practice three weeks later. He was 31 years old. With a young family, he was quick to accept his first commission from a former co-worker who asked him to design a Modern house. He was featured in Atlanta Magazine as “Young Man on the Go”, and his renovated bungalow in Home Park near Tech was thought to be the first passive solar residence in Georgia. He wrapped up his design career as chief designer for Johnson, Smith, Reagan, architects for the Ferst Center for the Arts and the Student Galleria at Georgia Tech.

He is survived by his wife, Sylvia Bryant Johnson; his daughters from a previous marriage, Scott Johnson (Jack Meadows) of Atlanta and Clare Johnson McFadden (Andrew) of Athens. His family made the trek from Hibbing, MN, to Orlando, FL, in 1937: parents Elvin and Sadie Johnson, who taught him how to build houses; sisters Lorraine Denton and Ella Trapnell, and brother and best friend, Richard C. Johnson, professor emeritus at Georgia Tech.
http://obittree.com/obituary/us/georgia/athens/bridges-funeral-home/kenneth-johnson/1831991/

Kenneth E. Johnson, Architect and Engineer. After a 45-year practice as an architect in Atlanta, he and his wife Sylvia moved to Madison, GA, in 2004, where he restored and lived contentedly in a Georgian-style cottage in the Historic District. But his Modern design roots went deep, and he was pleased that his favorite designs survive. These evoked his admiration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s principle of bringing Nature indoors, and include the Morrison-Coghlin residence in Buckhead, the C&S bank (Bank of America) on Roswell Rd., and the Central Congregational Church on Briarcliff Rd.

After volunteering for vocational training at Orlando High School to help the war effort in the 1940’s, he worked in the drafting room of Babcock Aircraft Company. He enlisted in the Navy and was sent to Georgia Tech to study engineering. Following active duty, he returned to Tech and received his degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1948. He worked for a variety of firms as a licensed mechanical engineer, including Robert and Company and Toombs, Amisano & Wells, while going to night school at Tech’s College of Architecture. He became a licensed architect in December 1955, and opened his private practice three weeks later. He was 31 years old. With a young family, he was quick to accept his first commission from a former co-worker who asked him to design a Modern house. He was featured in Atlanta Magazine as “Young Man on the Go”, and his renovated bungalow in Home Park near Tech was thought to be the first passive solar residence in Georgia. He wrapped up his design career as chief designer for Johnson, Smith, Reagan, architects for the Ferst Center for the Arts and the Student Galleria at Georgia Tech.

He is survived by his wife, Sylvia Bryant Johnson; his daughters from a previous marriage, Scott Johnson (Jack Meadows) of Atlanta and Clare Johnson McFadden (Andrew) of Athens. His family made the trek from Hibbing, MN, to Orlando, FL, in 1937: parents Elvin and Sadie Johnson, who taught him how to build houses; sisters Lorraine Denton and Ella Trapnell, and brother and best friend, Richard C. Johnson, professor emeritus at Georgia Tech.
http://obittree.com/obituary/us/georgia/athens/bridges-funeral-home/kenneth-johnson/1831991/