John Beckmann launched Axis Mundi in 2004. He studied philosophy and visual culture at the New School, and architecture, interior and industrial design at Parsons School of Design, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Environmental Design. During his studies, he apprenticed with master minimalist Joseph P. D’Urso. Throughout his career he has honed an astute understanding of the intersections between architecture, design and contemporary art.

Beckmann’s honors include Best Residential Interior for 432 Park Avenue, ArchMarathon (2020), 15 of the Best Residential Architects and Designers in New York, by New York Architects (2020), a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts (1998) and a MacDowell Colony Fellowship (2010). He edited and contributed to The Virtual Dimension: Architecture, Representation and Crash Culture (Princeton Architectural Press, 1998), one of the first books to grasp the implications of digital technologies on the fields of architecture and design. Beckmann has also been a visiting critic at Yale School of Architecture, Pratt Institute and Parsons the New School for Design, and he has been a featured guest on Bloomberg TV, NBC’s Open House, and he’s been nominated two times for HGTV’s Designer of the Year.