Up and Comer of the Year

Johnsen Schmaling finds the right context

By Nathan J. Comp

Johnsen Schmaling Architects Inc., Milwaukee

John Geiger wanted to hire Vetter Denk Architects.

It was three years ago, and Geiger was planning to build a house on his property on Norwegian Bay off of Green Lake. He said he targeted Vetter Denk for the design because he was impressed with the Milwaukee firm’s work on the Aperture house on Moose Lake.

But Geiger’s plans changed when Brian Johnsen, the key architect on the Aperture project, left Vetter Denk to launch his own firm. Geiger followed and became the first client of Johnsen Schmaling Architects Inc.

Geiger runs a blueprinting firm, so he’s got a keen sense of what’s hot and what’s not among the architect set. And his experience with architects, combined with the time he spent with Johnsen Schmaling Architects, tells him that the Milwaukee firm is poised for great things.

Geiger’s new house is now in its final stages, and he said he is beyond pleased with the work of Johnsen Schmaling.

“I didn’t want a suburban house,” Geiger said. “They brought extraordinary originality to this project. It was a terrific experience working with them.”

Johnsen Schmaling Architects might be a new face in Wisconsin’s architectural scene, but the firm’s principals, Johnsen and Sebastian Schmaling, represent a wealth of design experience. The two architects together bring about 27 years of experience to their firm.

Johnsen and former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee schoolmate and Vetter Denk co-worker Schmaling formed their firm in 2003. And since that point, the two have set about making a name for themselves in the design community.

Robert Greenstreet, dean and professor in the Department of Architecture at the UW-Milwaukee and director of planning and design for the city of Milwaukee, said he is very proud of his former pupils.

“Both students were very clearly outstanding individuals,” he said. “Their work was very noticeable, and we’re seeing it already.”

Several of the firm’s projects earned both local and national recognition, and Johnsen and Schmaling this year attended an American Institute of Architects Wisconsin convention and held a seminar that explored their “rigorous, ongoing investigation into the meaning of contextuality.” In February, their work was exhibited at the I-Space gallery in Chicago.

They won the praise of critics and the press for bringing pizzazz to some of Milwaukee’s most blighted neighborhoods with their projects, namely an affordable-housing prototype they called Duplex 01. Critics praised the duo’s knack for bold designs while keeping within the context of the neighborhoods.

Johnsen and Schmaling began their firm with plans to invigorate Milwaukee’s building scene with creative architecture based on the individual context of each site. And they balance their mission with a selective approach to potential projects, opting for progressive, innovative jobs with a high level of complexity.

When they graduated from the UW-Milwaukee, both architects had job offers in other cities, Greenstreet said. But Johnsen, an Illinois native, and Schmaling, who is from Germany, chose to commit their talents to changing the way people see Milwaukee.

“They could’ve gone anywhere,” Greenstreet said. “They do better work than a lot of people.”