Occupation Architect Name Russell Johnson | Role Architect | |
Full Name Frederick Russell Johnson Died August 7, 2007, New York City, New York, United States Education Yale University, Carnegie Mellon University Structures Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Singapore | ||
Frederick Russell Johnson (September 14, 1923 – August 7, 2007) was a world renown architect and acoustical expert. Johnson was the founder of Artec Consultants Incorporated in 1970. Nicknamed the "guardian of the ear" by Jean Nouvel in 1998 and an "acoustic guru" by others, Johnson was best known for works that included technical designs for the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Centre in the Square in Canada, Pikes Peak Center in Colorado, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts in Canada and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in Florida.
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During his lifetime Johnson advanced the field of acoustic design and theater planning by developing adjustable sonic reflectors hanging from the ceiling of his halls to adjust sound depending upon the performer. The reflectors combined with a traditional shoebox shape design are considered trademarks of his firm. Since 1970 Artec has collaborated in the designs for some of the most renowned concert halls, opera houses, theatres, and other performance spaces of the 20th century and have created technical designs for over 21,000 projects worldwide including the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Sala São Paulo in Brazil, Culture and Congress Center in Switzerland, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center and Symphony Hall in England.
In 2004, Time Magazine referred to Johnson as a "legendary" acoustician and his design of the acclaimed Esplanade complex—Theatres on the Bay (concert hall plus opera theatre) in Singapore as "one of the best anywhere". Johnson was published for decades in the New York Times for his many concert hall designs. He was also praised in many publications that included the Wall Street Journal, The Independent, Wired Magazine, Variety, and the Los Angeles Times.
Background
Johnson was born in Berwick, Pennsylvania, on September 14, 1923. His mother was a homemaker, and his father and grandfather worked at the American Car and Foundry Company plant. Johnson was raised along with his sister Barbara in rural Berwick in the 1920s and '30s. As a child, Johnson always had an interest in music. While in the children's choir of his church, he climbed into the pipe organ to see how it worked. By his teens, he began listening to opera broadcasts on the radio and became interested in being a recording engineer for classical music.
During World War II, Johnson served in the Army Signal Corps. After Army service, he studied architecture at what is now Carnegie Mellon University and then transferred to Yale, from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1951.
Career
After Yale, Johnson entered the field of acoustics and theatre planning. From 1954 to 1970, he worked for Bolt, Beranek and Newman in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The firm was the country's first large commercial acoustical consulting firm and was founded by physicists trained at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked there as founder and principal consultant of the Theatre Consulting Division, and as technical coordinator for concert hall and opera house design, including acoustics. In 1970, Johnson decided to start his own firm, initially called 'Russell Johnson & Associates', and later renamed Artec Consultants Inc.
Some of the early acclaimed facilities on which Johnson worked include the Orchestra Shell Renovation, Derngate Centre, Grand Theatre de Quebec, Centennial Concert Hall, Crouse-Hinds Concert Theater, Hamilton Place in Canada, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and Place des Arts.
As chairman Johnson also led Artec on projects such as the Harpa (concert hall) in Reykjavík, the Winspear Centre in Edmonton, Domaine Forget in Charlevoix and acoustical upgrade of the Roy Thomson Hall. He also revolutionized the profession with adjustable acoustic equipment that could create different acoustic environments for different performance types.
In addition, he studied the history of concert hall design and concluded that the best halls were built between about 1840 and 1905. After this time demand arose for concert halls that could serve multiple purposes, hosting symphonies as well as music theater, choral societies and lectures. Smaller auditoriums gave way to venues that could hold 3,000 to 4,000 people. These trends, Johnson believed, led to acoustical nightmares. Therefore, he persuaded many owners and architects to return to the basic shape and dimensions of beloved older halls like the Musikverein in Vienna, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Symphony Hall in Boston; all-of-which are shoebox-shaped and relatively small.
Johnson's talents helped make him the go-to person for acoustic design and at time led to his having also worked in collaboration with some of great architects of the world including Cesar Pelli, Jean Nouvel, I.M. Pei, Moshe Safdie, Barton Myers, Bing Thom, Michael Wilford, Eberhard Zeidler, Fred Lebensold, Sir James Stirling, Robert Venturi, and Rafael Viñoly.
Projects The following is a list of well known concert halls and projects Johnson created:
One of the last halls masterminded by the Johnson was the César Pelli-designed Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.
Honours
Johnson was the recipient of several prestigious honours:
Death
On August 9, 2007, Johnson died in his New York City apartment. A funeral service was held in Berwick, Pennsylvania on August 18. A Memorial service was held in The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City on November 7, 2007.