• DARIN JOHNSTONE

    BIO

  • SANDRA HUTCHINGS

    BIO

  • MATT LIESE

    BIO

  • SEAN DAVIS

    Bio

DARIN JOHNSTONE

Principal

Darin Johnstone is an award-winning Los Angeles-based architect and educator. With 30 years of experience in the field of architecture and 25 years spent educating young architects, Johnstone offers a unique perspective at the nexus between practice and academia.

Johnstone founded DJA in 2004 to engage architecture as an experimental, overarching discipline. Today, he provides design direction, review and leadership across all phases of the firm’s projects as it accepts a wide range of design challenges across the spectrum of architecture, urban planning, landscape design, interior design, furniture design and site-specific installation. 

Notably, over the last decade, DJA under Johnstone’s direction has designed and completed multiple award-winning renovation projects and comprehensive program mapping for both ArtCenter College of Design campuses in Pasadena. He has led the firm in the design and redesign of nearly half of ArtCenter’s facilities, with 15 completed renovation projects including projects designed to serve ArtCenter and the surrounding community. 

Since 2002, Johnstone has been a member of SCI-Arc faculty. From 2010 to 2016, he created and directed Design Immersion Days (DID)—SCI-Arc’s introduction to design program for high school students—which was widely recognized, winning multiple awards and grants. He also led a collaboration between SCI-Arc and Habitat for Humanity in 2015 through 2016, resulting in the design and construction of the multi-award-winning IVRV house. Prior to his time at SCI-Arc, he was a design faculty member at Cal Poly Pomona.

Johnstone has received broad industry recognition including many awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as well as prominent industry media honors and grants for his teaching work at SCI-Arc. His work has been published in Architectural Record, Azure, Domus, Dwell, Frame, Interior Design, Los Angeles Times, Surface, The Architect’s Newspaper and many more.

Johnstone received his Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University and his Bachelor of Architecture from California State Polytechnic University of Pomona. He is also a long-time AIA member.


SANDRA HUCTHINGS

Studio Director

Sandra Hutchings is a designer and cross-disciplinary collaborator with 25 years of experience and a diverse portfolio of award-winning work. Designing for the arts and education over the past 20 years, she has led academic and cultural institutions through campus expansions, touching all phases of design and construction processes with a focus on programming, planning and design. As DJA’s Studio Director and team member since 2013, Sandra directs the firm’s design endeavors throughout the duration of each of its projects.

As lead designer and collaborator on the Mullin Transportation Design Center, Ahmanson Auditorium, Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery and Fine Art + Illustration building, among many others, Sandra’s contributions have been instrumental to the success of some of DJA’s most ambitious built work for long-time client ArtCenter College of Design.

Sandra has effectively bridged her interest in contemporary architecture and art with her work alongside architects and prominent institutions in Los Angeles, the East Coast, and abroad. With formative experiences working with innovators in the fields of architecture, environmental sustainability, structural engineering and building technology as well as visionaries in academic, museum and office planning, she is adept at working with architectural teams and institutional leaders to accomplish a wide range of complex and specialized projects.

Complimenting her professional experience, Sandra has given back to the next generation by teaching design courses at both California State Polytechnic University of Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona), University of Southern California (USC) and SCI-Arc’s DID summer program, She has also served on review panels at several architecture schools throughout Los Angeles.

Sandra received her Master of Architecture from Cal Poly Pomona and her Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art and Architecture from Brown University, after completing the foundation year at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She is a LEED accredited professional.

MATT LIESE

Technical Director

Matt Liese has over 20 years of experience in all phases of project design and construction. He has focused the past 10 years honing his technical expertise and providing code compliance, constructability, and Quality Assurance / Quality Control project review. Matt serves as the technical lead while mentoring and training junior staff on a wide array of projects. Matt joined DJA in 2013 where he has managed or contributed his expertise to every project in the DJA portfolio over the last decade. Matt has helped DJA to deliver the highest level of service possible on projects with extreme budget and time constraints.

SEAN DAVIS

Project Architect

A graduate of California Polytechnic University of San Luis Obispo, Sean Davis brings 10 years of diverse experience to DJA. He has experience in multiple typologies, including retail, hospitality, mixed use development and housing across a variety of projects from adaptive reuse to master planning. He believes in a strong collaborative design process between all team members and the client and has engaged projects from pre-design programming through construction administration.  In addition to design work, Sean has a strong interest in an evolving design process within a studio, testing new technologies in and out of office such as VR, AR, and digital fabrication. 

Sean’s contributions have been central to the success of realizing projects such as Hyundai & Kia Innovation Lab and the Mullin Transportation Design Center.