He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Kansas, a Master of Architecture (with distinction) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a Ph.D. in Architecture from Harvard University, where his doctoral research work focused on the interplay between commodity and media in post-war architectural discourse. His current writings include treatments on pedestrian malls, electronic architectures, supergraphics, post-modernism and contemporary design. John has taught theory and design at the Yale School of Architecture, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and the Institute of Architecture at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria. He has worked for design offices in Kansas City, New York, Boston and Rotterdam.