Areas of Expertise

  • Shopping Centers
  • Retail Stores
  • Restaurants & Cafes
  • Parking Lots & Garages
  • Custom Homes
  • Commerical Renovations
  • Golf Courses and Clubhouses
  • Movie Theaters

Forensic Services

  • Accident Investigation
  • Forensic Studies
  • Expert Testimony & Depositions
  • Consultations
  • Reports
  • Site Surveys
  • Graphic Presentation
  • Photographic Documentation
  • Construction Cost Estimates
  • Replacement Cost
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Copyright Infringement
  • Premises Liability
  • Slip, Trip and Fall
  • Construction Defects/Failure

Forensic Architecture

MICHAEL S. JOHNSTONE, AIA, provides expert witness services and forensic investigation for commercial and residential buildings. Michael established himself professionally from the 1970s to 1990s with architecture for Macy’s, Sharper Image, Cost Plus/World Market, Regal Cinemas, Computerland, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Honda Motor Co., and California Pizza Kitchen. Today, from his studio in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, he offers 40 years of design and construction management experience and has completed over $200 million in construction.

As an expert witness and forensic investigator, Michael provides independent and objective litigation support for architectural copyright infringement, ADA guidelines, construction defects, and premises liability. His experience in shopping centers, retail stores, movie theaters, restaurants, commercial buildings, parking lots & structures, apartments and custom homes affords great depth of design and safety expertise. Michael additionally has a long standing association with forensic architects and engineers in the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1972 with a BS in Architecture and completed a Golf Course Design curriculum under Robert Muir Graves at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1985. He has practiced throughout the United States and is a licensed architect in North Carolina and California.

Architectural Design