Nathan John is a designer, writer and visual artist based in Oakland, California. As Head of Architecture at Google R+D for the Built Environment, Nathan is a leader in the development of flexible systems for architecture, iterative approaches to design and construction, and innovative strategies for community and stakeholder engagement. Leveraging the methods of the hacker/maker movement as well as a background in policy research, community organizing, and custom fabrication, Nathan’s approach to the creation of exemplary architecture and public space is inextricably linked to an investment in exemplary community process.
Nathan’s research on urban interventions and public space has been recognized with several awards and fellowships, including the John K. Branner Traveling Fellowship, the UC Berkeley Arts Research Center Fellowship, and the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, and his writing has been included in publications including Ground Up, Room One Thousand, and the anthology P[art]icipatory Urbanisms. He holds a Master of Architecture from University of California, Berkeley, where he received the Eisner Prize in Architecture, the department’s highest honor.
Nathan was an ARC Fellow in Spring 2013 – he was chosen in the Graduate Fellow category.