John Mongard actively pursues a practice which moves across many fields and disciplines to create new forms of living and gathering. A search for quality drives each project from vision to fruition. The process of design and making are integrally woven together, allowing a strong sense of craft to permeate each space and object.

The practice is limited to a close team of experienced designers, in order to achieve design excellence in every project. JMLA carry out the majority of its projects in collaboration with interdisciplinary teams of artists, crafts' people and other professionals, forging new ways of placemaking and leading Queensland's push towards culturally appropriate development.

The practice strives for creative placemaking at the nexus between community, ecology and design. A desire to maintain the sense of wholeness in the landscape leads us to create linkages between planning and detailed design, through a community orientated process.

The policy of the practice is to continue to be at the cutting edge of design and planning, and this is acknowledged in projects such as the Tooradin Village strategy and the Landmatters Ecovillage, which both emphasise ecological sustainability and outstanding design.