Bobby Johnston

Bobby Johnston, AIA, CPHD, is a founding partner at CO Adaptive, an unbuild-design-build practice, that focuses on converting existing buildings from a linear economy to a circular one. He is passionate about connecting disparate technologies and systems; alongside forming new business models that can reshape the industry for more circular, healthier, and regenerative environments. This year, Bobby led the launch of a new division of the practice, Disassembly, which serves as a deconstruction contractor and matchmaker for architects, CMs, and building owners to achieve their circularity goals on projects. It also provides consulting and training for the industry around designing with reused materials and design for disassembly. 

Bobby and CO Adaptive’s work has received numerous awards and recognition including the Architectural League’s Emerging Voices Award in 2026, A|N’s 2025 Best of Practice Award, 2025 Trust for Governors Island Climate Solutions Challenge winner, MoMA’s Inaugural New York New Publics exhibition in 2023, the Architectural League’s Beaux Arts Ball 2023 Annual Installation, MASterworks Design Award for Adaptive Reuse in 2023, and the Design Vanguard Award in 2022. He is a frequent lecturer on circular design, currently teaching a graduate studio at MIT, and has previously taught studios at Columbia GSAPP and Pratt SoA. Bobby is a registered architect in New York State and a licensed general contractor in NYC, with over 25 years of practice in the industry. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University and a Bachelors of Arts in Architecture from UC Berkeley.