5468796 Architecture is a design studio established in 2007 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Treaty 1 territory.
Practicing in the context of the urbanized Midwest, 5468796 adopts a brand of architecture based in the mainstream and seemingly mundane [profound] understanding of capital in architecture, and re-imagines how it can be re-invested for greater social good and justice.
Basing the practice on two tenets — that the art of city-building has been lost, along with a diminished focus on creating buildings that define cities — 5468796 builds cities one project at a time. With a boundary-pushing mentality, individual projects are weaved into the urban fabric and design activism cultivates a culture of architecture against ambivalence.
The outcomes are a critical response to pressing urban issues of multi-family housing and city-building in all its forms, from social housing to market-rate condominiums and masterplanning. The work has been peer recognized by organizations such as the Architectural League, Rice Design Alliance, and the World Architecture Festival’s Building of the Year.
5468796 has grown into a platform for engagement through practice, exhibitions, activism and disseminating knowledge through symposia, teaching and publications. Dedicated to instigating change at the policy level, Johanna sits on the Executive Board of RAIC and is past Chair of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, where she built a platform for Design Economy. Principals have been invited to teach at universities across North America and abroad, including IIT and Cornell AAP. The work and research has been compiled into the four-volume publication platform.MIDDLE: Architecture for Housing the 99% [published by Arquine, released October 2023], providing a blueprint on how to engage with multi-family housing and city-building.