Dorothy Johns
“My goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings throughout their lifecycle, from design and construction to operation and end-of-life.”
Driven by the climate crisis, Dorothy Johns is on a mission to reduce the carbon footprint of existing and future buildings. Bridging the fields of architecture and building science, Johns’ interdisciplinary expertise makes her uniquely suited for “catching carbon” throughout a building’s lifespan. Her research focuses on understanding the behavior of materials and buildings – from sequestering carbon using innovative bio-based materials to engineering high-performance envelope systems to reduce a building's operational carbon. Passionate about working alongside industry and academia, Johns actively collaborates through her interdisciplinary Catching Carbon Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), and her professional practice, Woodhouse Studio.
A TMU alumnus, Johns is now empowering the next generation of architectural science students. She brings real-world projects to the classroom and mentors students on their journey to becoming conscientious and unbiased leaders in the field. A member of the education subcommittee for the Ontario Building Envelope Council, Johns is dedicated to helping architecture and building science students make their climate-focused research and design work a reality.
Areas of Research
Founded Woodhouse Studio, dedicated to low-carbon materials and techniques.Through her professional practice, Johns works with clients who share her dedication to socially responsible values and design. Woodhouse Studio projects involve low-carbon materials, tools, and techniques, which allows Johns to test and advance her research. |
Subject matter expert in building socially resilient futures for diverse communities.A certified passive house expert, Johns explores new techniques and materials to inform socially resilient and sustainable built environments. Johns actively teaches, publishes, and presents research on the topics of flexible, multi-purpose buildings and community-informed design. |
Principal investigator for the Catching Carbon Lab.Housed at Toronto Metropolitan University, Johns’ Catching Carbon Lab integrates building science and architectural design. Collaborating with graduate students in architecture and building science, Johns pursues high-performance, circular design strategies and the use of bio-based materials to reduce and sequester carbon throughout a building’s lifecycle. |
Faculty Research Theme
- Energy & Sustainability
- Design
- Functional Materials
Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence
Research Interest
- Low-carbon material research
- Bio-based material research
- Low-carbon design research
- Sustainable detailing and design
- Circular design and engineering for architecture
- Building science
- High performance envelope systems
- Social sustainability
Highlights
Through her professional practice, Johns works with clients who share her dedication to socially responsible values and design. Woodhouse Studio projects involve low-carbon materials, tools, and techniques, which allows Johns to test and advance her research.
Housed at Toronto Metropolitan University, Johns’ Catching Carbon Lab integrates building science and architectural design. Collaborating with graduate students in architecture and building science, Johns pursues high-performance, circular design strategies and the use of bio-based materials to reduce and sequester carbon throughout a building’s lifecycle.
Catching Carbon Lab
Housed at Toronto Metropolitan University, the interdisciplinary Catching Carbon Lab (CCL) aims to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings throughout their lifecycle. At CCL, researchers and students collaborate with architects, engineers, and climate industry leaders to investigate bio-based materials, innovative design and construction techniques, and circular design principles towards reducing and sequestering carbon in the built environment.
Johns, D., Richman, R. Lawrence, C. (2024). “Assessing the Effectiveness of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) Roof Assembly Moisture Control Strategies: A Field Laboratory,” Construction and Building Materials, vol. 457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.139409 (external link)
Johns, D., Vyas, Y., Richman, R. (2023). State-of-the-Art Review of Moisture Content Sensor Deployment in Mass Timber Construction. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of Architectural Engineering: Special Collection on Mass Timber Building Design and Construction. (external link) https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.torontomu.ca/10.1061/JAEIED.AEENG-1638
Johns, D., Vyas, Y., Richman, R., Liao, Z. (2023). Hygrothermal Analysis of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) in Canadian Climates With and Without Adhesive Layers Using a 1D-HAM Numerical Modeling Tool. Proceedings of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference 2021. CSCE 2021. Lecture notes in Civil Engineering, vol 248. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1004-3_37 (external link)
Vyas, Y., Johns, D., Richman, R., Liao, Z. (2023). Developing a novel 1D-HAM numerical modelling tool for assessing the hygrothermal properties of CLT including adhesive layers. Proceedings of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference 2021. CSCE 2021. Lecture notes in Civil Engineering, vol 248. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1004-3_36 (external link)
- Ontario Association of Architects (OAA registered architect)
- Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC)
- Ontario Building Envelope Council - Education Subcommittee Member
- Building Science Specialist Board of Canada - Educator’s Subcommittee Member
- Events for Life Centre Inc. - Facility Expansion Committee Member
- Toronto Circularity Network (member)
Woodhouse Studio
- NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship - Doctoral [PGS-D]
- OBEC Graduate Research Scholarship
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship
- RAIC Honour Roll
- AIA Certificate of Merit
Education
Year |
University |
Degree |
2024 |
Toronto Metropolitan University |
PhD, Building Science |
2016 |
University of Calgary |
Master of Architecture, Honours |
2014 |
Toronto Metropolitan University |
Bachelor of Architectural Science, Honours |
