62 | July/August 2017
A
B U S I N E S S
VISIONARY MAN:
Gordon
Johnson
Architecture
BY JAMES JOHNSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAT THEW WONDERLY
AS A STUDENT AT WATAUGA
High School in Boone, North Carolina,
Gordon Johnson was the kind of
kid who drew every chance he got.
Remember the kid who always had
a sketchbook handy, who regularly
turned in homework with doodles
in the margins? Johnson was just
like that. He continued on with his
love of drawing and began designing
structures—both large and small in
scale—which led to the job he has
today where he is one of the area's most
sought aer architects.
Johnson never had to sacrifice his
dream to get a "real job"; he simply
combined the two. Today, he runs
Gordon Johnson Architecture out
of his Hay Street office in downtown
Fayetteville. In June of 1999, he started
his business, which has grown to
specialize in public sector design work.
Johnson's firm has been responsible for
literally hundreds of building designs
which can be seen all over the county.
From firehouses and schools, to City
Hall and the Cumberland County
Courthouse, there are examples of
his work every which way you turn.
Some of the most notable are the
Wyatt Visitors Pavilion Complex at
the Cape Fear Botanical Garden and
the Fayetteville Area Transportation
Museum Annex. He is currently at
work on the expansion project at
the Fayetteville Regional Airport, a
