John Q. Lawson, celebrated architect and artist, has died at 84

John Q. Lawson, 84, of Philadelphia, celebrated architect, founder of John Lawson Architects, former adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania and what was then Philadelphia University, artist, and volunteer, died Tuesday, Aug. 6, of complications from pneumonia at the Hill at Whitemarsh retirement community.

Mr. Lawson specialized in contextual architecture and midcentury modernism, and said on his website that his designs “function practically and provide visual stimulation and excitement for those who use the building.” His signature local projects include the United Way building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Lang Music Building at Swarthmore College, a surgery theater at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and private residences in Philadelphia, Haverford, Gladwyne, Haddonfield, and Long Beach Island.

He worked with the city and the National Park Service on public space projects, and collaborated with many college and hospital expansion planners. “He was an incredibly efficient worker,” said his wife, Lorna Katz-Lawson. “He was a great believer in serving the public. He was an energetic people person who liked being in a group.”

He founded John Lawson Architects in 1986, welcomed his wife and another partner, and they designed all kinds of structures around the country until he retired in 2011. He worked on a project at the University of Guam and won recognition for the United Way and Lang Music buildings, Diamond Park in North Philadelphia, and the Walter Royal Davis Library at the University of North Carolina.

His design of a Center City exercise pool was featured in The Inquirer’s Home and Design section in 1997, and a vacation home he created on Long Beach Island earned a three-page photo spread in 1998. “I have traveled all over the world,” one of the Long Beach Island homeowners told The Inquirer, “and I haven’t been to one place that is quite like this.”

Earlier, Mr. Lawson worked for two decades at the Philadelphia office of Mitchell/Giurgola Architects. He joined the firm after college in 1965, made partner in 1974, and oversaw many of its notable projects until 1985. He worked on structures near Independence Hall for the 1976 Bicentennial celebration and earned a design award from the American Institute of Architects for a plaza he created near Temple University in 1983.

He sold and exhibited colorful paintings of geometric configurations in oils and acrylics, and spent six months in 1980 studying public spaces on a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. He served on architectural juries, and many of his drawings are preserved in Penn’s architectural archives.

He taught students at what is now Penn’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design from 1972 to 1987 and at Philadelphia University, now part of Thomas Jefferson University, in the 2000s. “He had lots of students who appreciated him,” his wife said.

He was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and member of its local urban design, education, and steering committees. He was onetime chairman of the architectural advisory board at the old Spring Garden College and active with the Pennsylvania Society of Architects.

He also served on boards for the Awbury Arboretum and City Parks Association, and on the Eastern State Penitentiary repurposing task force. “Public spaces were interesting to him,” his wife said.

John Quinn Lawson was born April 11, 1940, in Tucumcari, N.M. He was drawn to nature and animals, and was especially adept in earning arts and crafts merit badges as a teenage Eagle Scout.

He earned bachelor’s degrees in architecture at Rice University in Texas in 1962 and a master’s degree in architecture at Princeton University in 1964.

He married Elizabeth Waddel in 1961, and they had son Bevan and daughter Cary. After a divorce, he married Lorna Katz in 1981, and they lived for years in Society Hill.

Mr. Lawson worked for architecture firms in Philadelphia, Doylestown, and Princeton before joining Mitchell/Giurgola. He volunteered with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Society Hill Civic Association, International Executive Service Corps, and other groups.

He admired Native American culture and collected Bob Dylan’s music. He rode a bicycle around town, was good at math and writing, and attended as many high school reunions in Tucumcari as he could.

“He was an amazing person,” his daughter said. “He was artistic, thoughtful, and well-respected.” His family said in a tribute: “His kind and creative spirit lives on in his works and in the cherished memories of family and friends.”

In addition to his wife, children, and former wife, Mr. Lawson is survived by two grandchildren, two brothers, and other relatives. A sister died earlier.

A celebration of his life is to be held later.

Donations in his name may be made to the University of Pennsylvania Mario Romanach Fellowship Fund, Office of the Treasurer, Box 71332, Philadelphia, Pa. 19176; and the Sierra Club, 2101 Webster St., Suite 1300, Oakland, Calif. 94612.