International Women’s Day: Celebrating women in architecture

This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating women in architecture and our female colleagues at JDa.

With far fewer women in architecture and particularly in leadership roles compared to men, a key goal of the firm is to encourage and support female architects and designers.

A 2017 survey by Dezeen showed that only three of the world’s 100 biggest architecture firms were led by women, and only six more firms are run by a senior team consisting of both a woman and a man.

At JDa, over half of our employees are women and we currently employ three female intern architects. We are also proudly a woman-led firm headed by principal Kimberly Johnston.

Kim recently marked 30 years at the firm, and as Johnston Davidson Architecture was founded by her father, she has worked in various capacities at JDa since the early age of 19.

“I worked with my Dad at the firm for over 20 years cultivating a people based firm outlook. This created a strong family-based approach to our projects and the firm,” said Kim.

In 2005, Kim became a registered architect through the AIBC and took the lead in designing many of the firm’s projects, including fire hall and protective services projects.

“At JDa, we look at every project starting from the general to the particular – the budget does not have to be huge to create a great project, it’s all in the way you see the potential solution,” said Kim.

With a passion for architecture running in the family, as well as growing up in North Vancouver in the house designed by her father over 50 years ago, Kim eventually took charge of the firm and applied her extensive experience and knowledge navigating intricate design challenges.

Kimberly Johnston – Photo by Jimmy Jeong

Today, Kim runs the firm with a focus on finding the right balance between achieving design excellence and providing clients with solutions that integrate affordability, innovation and sustainable concepts.

“For our firm, the site informs the direction of the design. It is one of most important components in the overall success of the project.”

Find out more about Kim and the JDa team: https://jdarch.ca/team-member/kimberley-johnston/