Jonathan R. Knowles brings his knowledge of building technology and experiments in unconventional construction systems to his teaching at RISD. Professionally, he has over 25 years of experience designing and managing large-scale architectural projects. Knowles has been teaching at RISD since 2001 He was co-project director for RISD’s 2005 Solar Decathlon entry in Washington, DC and project director for RISD's 2014 Techstyle Haus entry in Versailles, France. He has taught at the Parsons School of Design, Cornell University and Columbia University.

Knowles is also a practicing architect and passive house consultant in Providence, where he is a partner at BriggsKnowles A+D. His work is dedicated to the design and construction of net-zero architecture. The work of the firm has been written up in such publications as Architecture Record, The New York Times and Dwell magazine.