Kingston University's staff and students have paid tribute to their internationally revered Head of Architecture and Landscape who sadly passed away recently.

Mary Vaughan Johnson led KU's Architecture and Landscape department and was described as a "brilliant academic and mentor" after her sudden passing earlier this month.

In a statement expressing the school's condolences, a spokesperson for KU described the response from staff and students who worked with Mary.

"Students and staff from Kingston School of Art have been paying tribute to their internationally revered Head of Architecture and Landscape, Mary Vaughan Johnson, who passed away suddenly earlier this month.

"Messages of sympathy have flowed into Kington University honouring Mary, with students, colleagues and industry experts alike describing her as warm, generous, empathetic and inclusive, as well as a brilliant academic and mentor," the spokesperson said.

Mary joined KU's team in 2018, with the Architecture and Landscape school quickly seeing the benefits of her "collaborative and supportive" approach.

The university described how she championed inclusion and equality on campus, and introduced regular drop-in sessions called "open conversations" as a "brave" space for students and staff to talk openly and share thoughts and ideas with one another.

Professor of Architecture Andrew Clancy is one of the Kingston School of Art colleagues on whom Mary made a lasting impression.

"Mary was incredibly student-focused. Many remember the Shona greeting she used often - ‘I am strong if you are also’ - and this is how she taught.

"She had high expectations of her students and was also extremely supportive if anything got in the way of meeting those expectations, whether it was having to commute across London to get to lectures or the challenges of being the first person in their family to go to university," he said.

"She wanted to open students’ eyes to all aspects of architecture, not solely the Western canon of architecture. She took a group of students and tutors to Ghana and it was a life-changing experience for many of them."

Architecture lecturer Nana Biamah-Ofosu meanwhile remembered Mary as a passionate reader who used books to open up conversations, a highly respected scholar, educator and mentor, and someone who felt deeply responsible for her students.

"Mary saw the value of her students’ lived experiences to their development as designers and architects. She empowered her students to draw on these experiences and to take risks," Biamah-Ofosu said.

"She would say ‘dream wildly, attempt the absurd and, even if you achieve half what you set out to do, it will be brilliant’.

"That was how she approached student and staff projects – nothing was out of bounds and everyone’s ideas were valid."

Third year architecture student Sophie Richards said she felt honoured to have been taught by Mary, who she described as one of the most kind, intelligent and caring people she had met.

"She will always leave an imprint with me, from learning how to accept others and always give them a chance, which is something she felt strongly about, to helping me find the joy in architecture," Sophie said.

"Her smile and laughter would always light up a room."

Mary lived in Kingston and leaves two much-loved grown-up children, Dyani Douze and Khalila Douze.