[Kansas City, MO] – [July 12, 2022] – Today, Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC), an award-winning national architecture, landscape and planning, and interior design firm headquartered in Chicago, announced the addition of Joe Keal, AIA, LEED AP, as principal in the firm’s growing Kansas City office.
“We are pleased to welcome Joe to help expand our national expertise and lead our growing team in Kansas City,” said executive chairman Lamar Johnson, FAIA, LEED AP. “The combination of his core values, strong local and national relationships, and large design portfolio across different project types makes him a perfect addition to our team.”
For over 20 years, Keal has led the award-winning and sustainability-focused design of higher education, institutional, cultural and performing arts, adaptive reuse/historic preservation, religious, corporate workplace, civic, and mixed-use development projects. Some of his most noteworthy projects include the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University; the renovation and expansion of Seaton Hall and Seaton Court at Kansas State University; the renovation and expansion of McCain Auditorium at Kansas State University; and the Zhou B Arts Center in Kansas City, Missouri, all completed while he was working at BNIM.
Most recently, Keal served as principal, studio director and national leadership team member at BNIM. He has also served as an adjunct professor in the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Kansas and guest lectured nationally on sustainable + integrated design, future-focused higher education environments, arts + cultural spaces, design for community resiliency and net-zero design.
“I am thrilled to join the architectural team at LJC during this exciting chapter of growth,” said Keal. “As a firm, LJC shares my passion for an integrated, collaborative and sustainable approach to design that enlivens human experiences. I look forward to working with the talented group of designers at LJC and doing extraordinary work for our clients.”
Keal is affiliated with several civic and professional associations, including the Dean’s Advisory Council at Kansas State University’s College of Architecture, Planning and Design; Manheim Park Community Land Trust (Board President); Teachers Like Me (Board Member); and Father’s Club of Shawnee Mission East (Chapter Co-Chair). He holds a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies from the University of Kansas. He is a licensed architect in the states of Kansas and Missouri.
About LJC
LJC is the full-service design and architecture arm of Clayco and is committed to enhancing the quality of the human experience and to improving how design and architecture can impact each individual’s emotional being. By harnessing the power of integrated design—including architecture, workplace strategy, interior design, landscape architecture, urban planning and engineering—the company achieves its clients’ goals and aspirations. For more information, visit www.theljc.com.