Johnpaul Jones sits with his hands clasped in his lap, looking to the right of the camera. The photo is in black and white.

Johnpaul Jones 1941-

Indigenous Architect

A 1972 graduate of the University of Oregon’s architecture program, Johnpaul Jones is renowned for his transformative designs of zoo habitats and for bringing indigenous architectural concepts into a modern perspective. Among his many acclaimed projects are the Smithsonian Institution’s American Indian Museum in Washington, D.C. (2004) and the Vancouver Land Bridge (2008), part of the Maya Lin Confluence Project.  

Jones, who is of Cherokee and Choctaw heritage, also designed the Many Nations Longhouse as a center for Native American students and organizations on the UO campus.  

In 1998 he received the Lawrence Medal from the School of Architecture and Allied Arts. In 2005, he received the UO’s Distinguished Service Award. He delivered the 2010 commencement address, “Indigenous Design—Emerging Gifts,” and the following year was selected to serve as a distinguished visiting professor at the university.   

In 2014, Johnpaul Jones became the first architect to be honored with the National Humanities Medal. Bestowing the award at a White House ceremony, President Barack Obama recognized Jones “for honoring the natural world and indigenous traditions in architecture.”  

– Received National Humanities Medal in 2014 

– Heightens human sensitivity to cultural and environmental issues through his design of buildings and zoos 

– Prepared a redesign for the University of Oregon’s Many Nations Longhouse at Eugene 

– Completed the design of the National Museum of the American Indian on the Capitol Mall in 2004 

– Recipient of the Lawrence Medal from the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts in 1998 

Johnpaul Jones sits in the quad of Lawrence hall. There is a small garden and artwork behind him.

Johnpaul Jones sits in the quad of Lawrence hall, the location of the College of Design where he studied architecture in the early 1970s.

Many Nations Longhouse, a wooden building with a sloping roof and shrubs lining the pathways.

Many Nations Longhouse, designed by Johnpaul Jones in 2005.

Read more about the life and career of architect Johnpaul Jones 

– Johnpaul Jones is a leader in culturally and environmentally sensitive architecture

– Jones, Johnpaul (b. 1941)

– Johnpaul Jones: National Humanities Medal