John P. Margolis was born in Boston, Massachusetts into an academic family full of intellectual and artistic diversity. He received his bachelor’s degree with a Major in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, and his Master of Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986.

His passion for classical and traditional architecture led him to the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) in the early 1990s. John has served as New England Chapter President of the ICAA for five consecutive years between 2009 and 2014. Since then, he has held numerous Board positions and for ten consecutive years served on the Board of the Southern California Chapter as Chapter Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. He was recently elected as a Fellow of the ICAA and has a certificate in classical architecture.

John is also a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and is licensed in Massachusetts and California. During his tenure in New England, his board commitments include Agassiz Village in Poland, Maine and Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts. John also serves on various committees with the Santa Barbara Board of the AIA and has actively participated in the ongoing State Street Master Plan, the recent 2025 Earthquake Centenary Committee for Santa Barbara as well as the Board of Trustees and the Building & Grounds Committee for Lotusland.

In 2019, John joined Appleton Partners as a Senior Project Manager in their Santa Barbara office where he specializes in high-end residential projects of all sizes. There he pursues new opportunities for interpreting traditional approaches to the Southern California climate. John also enjoys traveling, watercolor painting, gardening, tennis and creating environments for timeless and harmonious living.