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Johnston Marklee

Based in Los Angeles, Johnston Marklee creates art museums and cultural institutions marked by precise geometric profiles, seamless material transitions around radiused corners, and subtle contrasts between matte surfaces and luminous chromatic accents. This body of work serves as a strong reference when detailing continuous corrugated metal cladding, aligning complex roof geometries with exterior pier rhythms, or unifying historical masonry textures with contemporary vertical additions.

Exterior perspective of Rice University Visual and Dramatic Arts by Johnston Marklee featuring sawtooth brick roof forms.

Rice University Visual and Dramatic Arts

An exterior architectural rendering by Johnston Marklee showcasing a university arts building with rhythmic sawtooth roof profiles and textured brick massing.

What we like about this project
The sawtooth roof geometry aligns precisely with the vertical articulation of the facade piers below.

Materials

  • brick
  • glass
  • metal

Visual identifiers

  • sawtooth-roof
  • brick-facade
  • vertical-piers
  • recessed-colonnade

Style tags

  • contemporary
  • contextual
  • rational

Visual tags

  • institutional
  • higher-education
  • brick-architecture
  • sawtooth-profile
  • campus-context
Geometry
Low-slung horizontal massing articulated by a repeating series of sawtooth gable roofs and vertical brick piers along the facade.
Facade system
Load-bearing brick masonry with vertical relief piers and large glazed punched openings.
Structural guess
Steel frame or concrete structure supporting profiled metal or timber roof trusses.
Spatial scale
Two-story institutional scale, friendly and approachable pedestrian frontage.
Lighting
Soft, even daylight casting gentle shadows, highlighting the vertical folds and texture of the brick facade.
Atmosphere
Calm, orderly academic environment bathed in diffuse daylight.
Environmental context
Suburban campus setting with mature street trees framing the foreground and surrounding roads.
Spatial experience
The building sits back from the street behind landscaping, establishing a welcoming civic edge with a recessed ground-floor colonnade.
Composition rhythm
Rhythmic repetition of vertical brick folds matching the sawtooth roof profile above.
Style reading
Contemporary contextual institutional architecture
Program
University visual and dramatic arts building
Perspective
Exterior Facade
Discipline
architecture
Materials
brick, glass, metal
Visual identifiers
sawtooth-roof, brick-facade, vertical-piers, recessed-colonnade
Style tags
contemporary, contextual, rational
Visual tags
institutional, higher-education, brick-architecture, sawtooth-profile, campus-context
Geometry
Low-slung horizontal massing articulated by a repeating series of sawtooth gable roofs and vertical brick piers along the facade.
Facade system
Load-bearing brick masonry with vertical relief piers and large glazed punched openings.
Structural guess
Steel frame or concrete structure supporting profiled metal or timber roof trusses.
Spatial scale
Two-story institutional scale, friendly and approachable pedestrian frontage.
Lighting
Soft, even daylight casting gentle shadows, highlighting the vertical folds and texture of the brick facade.
Atmosphere
Calm, orderly academic environment bathed in diffuse daylight.
Environmental context
Suburban campus setting with mature street trees framing the foreground and surrounding roads.
Spatial experience
The building sits back from the street behind landscaping, establishing a welcoming civic edge with a recessed ground-floor colonnade.
Composition rhythm
Rhythmic repetition of vertical brick folds matching the sawtooth roof profile above.
Style reading
Contemporary contextual institutional architecture
Program
University visual and dramatic arts building
Perspective
Exterior Facade
Discipline
architecture

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  • Firms
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AI Native Apps

  • AI Mode Search
  • SoftMarket
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About HappyCluster

  • About
  • How it works
  • Contact

Connect

  • Waitlist
  • X
  • GitHub

Legal

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  • Terms

HappyCluster

© 2026

Exterior perspective of Rice University Visual and Dramatic Arts by Johnston Marklee featuring sawtooth brick roof forms.

Rice University Visual and Dramatic Arts

An exterior architectural rendering by Johnston Marklee showcasing a university arts building with rhythmic sawtooth roof profiles and textured brick massing.

What we like about this project
The sawtooth roof geometry aligns precisely with the vertical articulation of the facade piers below.

Materials

  • brick
  • glass
  • metal

Visual identifiers

  • sawtooth-roof
  • brick-facade
  • vertical-piers
  • recessed-colonnade

Style tags

  • contemporary
  • contextual
  • rational

Visual tags

  • institutional
  • higher-education
  • brick-architecture
  • sawtooth-profile
  • campus-context
Geometry
Low-slung horizontal massing articulated by a repeating series of sawtooth gable roofs and vertical brick piers along the facade.
Facade system
Load-bearing brick masonry with vertical relief piers and large glazed punched openings.
Structural guess
Steel frame or concrete structure supporting profiled metal or timber roof trusses.
Spatial scale
Two-story institutional scale, friendly and approachable pedestrian frontage.
Lighting
Soft, even daylight casting gentle shadows, highlighting the vertical folds and texture of the brick facade.
Atmosphere
Calm, orderly academic environment bathed in diffuse daylight.
Environmental context
Suburban campus setting with mature street trees framing the foreground and surrounding roads.
Spatial experience
The building sits back from the street behind landscaping, establishing a welcoming civic edge with a recessed ground-floor colonnade.
Composition rhythm
Rhythmic repetition of vertical brick folds matching the sawtooth roof profile above.
Style reading
Contemporary contextual institutional architecture
Program
University visual and dramatic arts building
Perspective
Exterior Facade
Discipline
architecture
Materials
brick, glass, metal
Visual identifiers
sawtooth-roof, brick-facade, vertical-piers, recessed-colonnade
Style tags
contemporary, contextual, rational
Visual tags
institutional, higher-education, brick-architecture, sawtooth-profile, campus-context
Geometry
Low-slung horizontal massing articulated by a repeating series of sawtooth gable roofs and vertical brick piers along the facade.
Facade system
Load-bearing brick masonry with vertical relief piers and large glazed punched openings.
Structural guess
Steel frame or concrete structure supporting profiled metal or timber roof trusses.
Spatial scale
Two-story institutional scale, friendly and approachable pedestrian frontage.
Lighting
Soft, even daylight casting gentle shadows, highlighting the vertical folds and texture of the brick facade.
Atmosphere
Calm, orderly academic environment bathed in diffuse daylight.
Environmental context
Suburban campus setting with mature street trees framing the foreground and surrounding roads.
Spatial experience
The building sits back from the street behind landscaping, establishing a welcoming civic edge with a recessed ground-floor colonnade.
Composition rhythm
Rhythmic repetition of vertical brick folds matching the sawtooth roof profile above.
Style reading
Contemporary contextual institutional architecture
Program
University visual and dramatic arts building
Perspective
Exterior Facade
Discipline
architecture

Related in this portfolio