John Calvin Portman Jr. (December 4, 1924 – December 29, 2017) was an American neofuturistic

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and real estate developer widely known for popularizing hotels and office buildings with multi-storied interior atria. Portman also had a particularly large impact on the cityscape of his hometown of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, with the

Peachtree Center Peachtree Center is a district located in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Most of the structures that make up the district were designed by Atlanta architect John C. Portman, Jr. A defining feature of the Peachtree Center is a network of enclosed ped ...

complex serving as downtown's business and tourism anchor from the 1970s onward. The Peachtree Center area includes Portman-designed

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

, Westin, and

Marriott Marriott may refer to: People *Marriott (surname) Corporations * Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993 * Marriott International, international hotel ...

hotels. Portman's plans typically deal with primitives in the forms of symmetrical squares and circles.

Early life and career

Portman was born to John C. Portman, Sr. and Edna Rochester Portman. He had five sisters. He graduated from the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

in 1950. His firm completed the Merchandise Mart (now AmericasMart) in

downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, s ...

in 1961. The multi-block

was begun in 1965 and would expand to become the main center of hotel and office space in Downtown Atlanta, taking over from the Five Points area just to the south. Portman would develop a similar multiblock complex at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

's Embarcadero Center (1970s), which unlike its Atlanta counterpart, heavily emphasized pedestrian activity at street level. The

Hyatt Regency Atlanta The Hyatt Regency Atlanta is a business hotel located on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Opened in 1967 as the Regency Hyatt House, John C. Portman, Jr.'s revolutionary 22-story atrium design for the hotel has influenced hotel de ...

, Portman's first atrium hotel, would lead to many more iconic hotels and multi-use complexes with atria, including the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

(1974–1976), the

New York Marriott Marquis The New York Marriott Marquis is a Marriott hotel on Times Square, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Designed by architect John C. Portman Jr., the hotel is at 1535 Broadway, between 45th and 46th Streets. With 1,9 ...

(1982–1985), and the

Renaissance Center The Renaissance Center (also known as the GM Renaissance Center and nicknamed the RenCen) is a group of seven connected skyscrapers in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. The Renaissance Center complex is on the Detroit International Riv ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

(first phase 1973–1977), whose central tower remained the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere until the completion of

1717 Broadway 1717 Broadway is a skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. At high, it is the tallest hotel in North America. The building contains two hotels, the Courtyard New York Manhattan/Central Park below the 35th floor and th ...

in 2013. His signature work in China, the Shanghai Centre (1990), was the first of many major projects in China and elsewhere in Asia. The 5-star hotel inside, The Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai (formerly Portman Shangri-La Hotel), was named after him. In 2009 Portman's work was featured in a major exhibition at Atlanta's

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

. Portman was a Fellow of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

Personal life

Portman married Joan "Jan" Newton. They had six children. Portman died on December 29, 2017, aged 93. He was survived, among others, by his wife and five of his children, as well as his daughter-in-law, actress

Traylor Howard Traylor Elizabeth Howard is an American actress. Her roles include Sharon Carter on the television series ''Two Guys and a Girl'', and Natalie Teeger on the USA Network series ''Monk''. Early life Howard was born in Orlando, Florida, to Peggy ...

, and three of his five siblings.

Portfolio

JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen Bao'an in October 2020

''In chronological order by first listed completion date — for complexes, by completion date of first building in complex'' An asterisk (*) following a listing indicates a work done in partnership with H. Griffith Edwards.

1960s

* AmericasMart (formerly the ''Atlanta Market Center''),

**AmericasMart 1 (also known as the ''Merchandise Mart''), 1961* **AmericasMart 2 (also known as the ''Gift Mart''), 1992 **AmericasMart 2 West, 2008 **AmericasMart 3 (also known as the ''Apparel Mart''), 1979 *Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC),

Peachtree Hills Peachtree Hills is a neighborhood within the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. It primarily contains residential buildings, however, commercial buildings are scattered throughout the neighborhood. Peachtree Battle Shopping Center is located wi ...

, Atlanta, 1961 *Cary Reynolds Elementary (formerly Sequoyah Elementary and Northwoods Area Elementary before that), 1961 *Sequoyah Middle School (formerly Sequoyah High School), 1963 *

230 Peachtree Building 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

(formerly the ''Peachtree Center Tower''), Atlanta, 1965* * Antoine Graves, Atlanta, 1965* * Antoine Graves Annex, Atlanta, 1966* * Henderson High School,

Chamblee Chamblee ( ) is a city in northern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, northeast of Atlanta. The population was 30,164 as of the 2020 census. History The area that would later become Chamblee was originally dairy farms. During the late ninet ...

, 1967* *

, Atlanta **Peachtree Center North (formerly the ''Atlanta Gas Light Tower''), 1967* **Peachtree Center South, 1969 **Peachtree Center International Tower (formerly the ''Peachtree Cain Building''), 1972* **Harris Tower, 1975* **Marquis One, 1985 **Marquis Two, 1989 *

(formerly the ''Regency Hyatt House''), 1967* * Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Rosemont, 1969

1970s

*BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (now The Westin Chattanooga Hotel),

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, 1971 * Embarcadero Center,

** One Embarcadero Center (formerly the ''Security Pacific Tower''), 1971 ** Two Embarcadero Center, 1974 ** Three Embarcadero Center (formerly the ''Levi Strauss Building''), 1977 ** Four Embarcadero Center, 1982 **

Hyatt Regency San Francisco Hyatt Regency San Francisco is a hotel located at the foot of Market Street and The Embarcadero in the financial district of San Francisco, California. The hotel is a part of the Embarcadero Center development by Trammell Crow, David Rockefeller ...

(also known as ''Five Embarcadero Center''), 1973 **

Embarcadero West Embarcadero West, also known as 275 Battery Street, is a 30-story, office skyscraper in the Financial District of San Francisco, California. The building is part of the Embarcadero Center, which is a complex of five office towers and two hotels. ...

, 1989 ** Le Méridien San Francisco (formerly the ''Park Hyatt San Francisco''), 1988 * The Mall at Peachtree Center, Atlanta, 1973 * The Tower (formerly the ''Block 82 Tower'', ''Bank One Tower'', ''Team Bank'', ''Texas American Bank'', and ''Fort Worth National Bank Building''),

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, 1969–1974 * Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta, 1976 * Westin Bonaventure Hotel,

, 1974–1976 *

** Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center (formerly the ''Detroit Plaza Hotel'', ''The Westin Hotel Renaissance Center Detroit''), 1973–1977 ** Renaissance Center Tower 100, 1973–1977 ** Renaissance Center Tower 200, 1973–1977 ** Renaissance Center Tower 300, 1973–1977 ** Renaissance Center Tower 400, 1973–1977 ** Renaissance Center Tower 500, 1979–1981 ** Renaissance Center Tower 600, 1979–1981

1980s

The Regent Singapore ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

(formerly the ''Pavilion InterContinental Hotel''),

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, 1982
George W. Woodruff Physical Education Center

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

, 1983 *

Peachtree Center Athletic Club Peachtree, peach tree or variations may refer to: * Peach, the fruit-bearing tree, ''Prunus persica'' Places * Peachtree, West Virginia * Peachtree City, Georgia, a southern suburb of Atlanta * Peachtree Corners, Georgia, a northern suburb of Atl ...

, Atlanta, 1985 *

Atlanta Marriott Marquis The Atlanta Marriott Marquis is a 47-story, Marriott hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the 15th tallest skyscraper in the city. The building was designed by Atlanta architect John C. Portman Jr. with construction completed in 198 ...

, 1985 * Hyatt Regency Jeju, Jungmun, Jeju-do, South Korea, 1985 *

Marina Square Marina Square is a shopping mall in Singapore which opened in the late 1980s. It is part of the first building complex built on the reclaimed land at Marina Centre, and was the largest shopping mall in the country at the time. The complex also hou ...

, Singapore ** Marina Square Shopping Centre, 1985 ** Mandarin Oriental Singapore, 1985 **

Marina Mandarin Singapore The PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore (formerly Marina Mandarin Singapore) is a five-star luxury hotel located on Raffles Boulevard in the Marina Centre complex, in the Downtown Core of Singapore. Hotel Designed by John Portman, the ...

, 1985 ** The Pan Pacific Singapore, 1986 *

Entelechy II In philosophy, potentiality and actuality are a pair of closely connected principles which Aristotle used to analyze Motion (physics), motion, Four causes, causality, Aristotelian ethics, ethics, and physiology in his ''Aristotelian physics, Ph ...

, Sea Island, 1986 *

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, 1982–1985
R. Howard Dobbs University Center
Emory University, 1986 (to be demolished) *

Northpark Town Center North Park (or NorthPark or Northpark) may refer to: Shopping malls United States * Northpark Plaza Shopping Center, a shopping center in the Northwood community of Irvine, California * North Park Mall (Indiana), now known as Five Points Mall, ...

, Sandy Springs ** Northpark 400, 1986 ** Northpark 500, 1989 **

Northpark 600 North Park (or NorthPark or Northpark) may refer to: Shopping malls United States * Northpark Plaza Shopping Center, a shopping center in the Northwood community of Irvine, California * North Park Mall (Indiana), now known as Five Points Mall, ...

, 1998 *

JW Marriott San Francisco Union Square The JW Marriott San Francisco Union Square is a luxury hotel in San Francisco, California. It is owned by Park Hotels & Resorts. History The hotel was designed and built by architect and developer John Portman, and opened in 1987 as The Portman. ...

(formerly the ''Pan Pacific San Francisco'' and ''Portman Hotel''), 1987 *

American Cancer Society Center The American Cancer Society Center is a large convention center and office building in downtown Atlanta, adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park. The building contains about , including a partially underground parking garage and loading area. The ...

(formerly the ''Inforum Technology Center''), Atlanta, 1989 * Riverwood 100 (formerly the ''Barnett Bank Building''), Vinings, 1989

1990s

* Shanghai Centre,

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, 1990 ** Shanghai Centre West Apartment (also known as the ''Exhibition Centre North Apartment 1'') ** Shanghai Centre Apartments 2 (also known as the ''Shanghai East Apartment'') **

The Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...

(formerly the ''Shanghai Centre Main Tower'' and ''Portman Shangri-La Hotel'') *

SunTrust Plaza Truist Plaza is a 60 story skyscraper in downtown Atlanta. It was designed by John C. Portman, Jr. of John Portman & Associates and built from 1989 to 1992. In the mid-1990s, Portman sold half of his interest in the building to SunTrust Banks, ...

(formerly ''One Peachtree Center''), Atlanta, 1992 *

Cap Square Capital Square, commonly referred to as Cap Square, is a residential condominium skyscraper and shopping mall along Jalan Munshi Abdullah, in midtown in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, developed by Bandar Raya Developments Berhad. Apart from retail sp ...

(short for ''Capital Square''),

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

** Menara Multi Purpose (also known as the ''Capital Square Tower 1''), 1994 **

Capital Square Condominiums Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

, 2007

2000s

Bank of Communications Bank of Communications Limited (BoComm) (; often abbreviated as ), is the fifth-largest bank in mainland China. Established in 1908, the Bank of Communications claims a long history in China and is one of the banks to have issued banknotes in mo ...

, Shanghai, China, 2000 *

Shi Liu Pu Building Shi or SHI may refer to: Language * ''Shi'', a Japanese title commonly used as a pronoun * ''Shi'', proposed gender-neutral pronoun * Shi (kana), a kana in Japanese syllabaries * Shi language * ''Shī'', transliteration of Chinese Radical 44 ...

(also known as the ''Bank of Telecommunications''), Shanghai, China, 2000 *

Bund Center Bund Center is a , 50-storey tower in the Huangpu area of Shanghai, China. Designed by the architects of John Portman and Associates, the tower was completed in 2002. The building is mainly used for offices and major tenants of the building are ...

, Shanghai, China, 2002 **

(also known as the ''Shanghai Golden Beach Tower'') ** The Westin Bund Center, Shanghai ** Westin Residences * Westin Warsaw Hotel,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland, 2001–2003 *

Beijing Yintai Centre Beijing Yintai Centre () is located in the core of the Beijing central business district. It is a three-towered structure with the central tower rising 250 m high and the two flanking towers about 186 m. The central tower consists of ...

(also known as the ''Silvertie Center''),

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, 2002–2007 ** Beijing Yintai Centre Tower 1 **

Beijing Yintai Centre Tower 2 Beijing Yintai Centre Tower 2 () is a 63-floor 250 meter (820 foot) tall skyscraper completed in 2007 located in Beijing Yintai Centre, Beijing, China. It includes a hotel and residences. See also * List of tallest buildings in Beijing This ...

Beijing Yintai Centre Tower 3 } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

The Westin Charlotte The Westin Charlotte is a tall high-rise in Charlotte, North Carolina, designed by John C. Portman. It was built in 2003 and has 25 floors. It is the largest hotel in Charlotte, with 700 rooms, more than of convention space, and a ballroom. Se ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, 2003 * Tomorrow Square (contains the ''JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai at Tomorrow Square''), Shanghai, China, 1997–2003 * Taj Wellington Mews Luxury Residences,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, India, 2004 *

Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel The Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel is a hotel located at I-90 and Meacham Road in Schaumburg, Illinois. The 500-room hotel opened its doors in July 2006 and is run by Marriott under their Renaissance brand. The property features ...

Schaumburg Schaumburg is a district (''Landkreis'') of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübbe ...

, 2006 *

ICON An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, 2004–2007 *

Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hilton San Diego Bayfront is a hotel in San Diego, California. It has a height of 385 ft (117 m) and contains 1,190 rooms. Located in the Marina district of Downtown San Diego, Hilton San Diego Bayfront is 30-story, and utilizes the modern archi ...

(also known as the ''Hilton San Diego Convention Center Hotel'' and ''Campbell Shipyard Hilton''), San Diego, 2006–2008 * JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen Bao'an,

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

, China, 2015 * CODA Tech Square,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Midtown Atlanta, 2017

Awards and honors

* 1968 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement * 1978 Medal for Innovations in Hotel Design – American Institute of Architects * 1980 Silver Medal Award for Innovative Design – American Institute of Architects, Atlanta Chapter * 1984 Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence – for Embarcadero Center * 2009 The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award – Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat * 2011 The

Atlanta City Council The Atlanta City Council is the main municipal legislative body for the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It consists of 16 members primarily elected from 12 districts within the city. The Atlanta City Government is divided into three bo ...

renamed Harris Street in

Downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, s ...

as John Portman Boulevard at Historic Harris Street. * 2013 Four Pillar Award – Council for Quality Growth

Criticism

Portman was praised for his "cinematic" interiors artfully relating interior space and elements to the individual. In the 1960s and 1970s the placement of such buildings in America's decaying downtowns was considered salvation of the city centers, but some contemporary city planners are critical of such insular environments that "turn their back" on the city streets. For example, the

with its 8-floor high lobby was praised as a "town square", but is now criticized by some for turning its back to

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

. Nonetheless, at the time the hotel was built, due to the still-seedy character of Times Square, Portman's style of inwardly-oriented spaces made logical sense. Also, he did, in fact, design buildings (like

's Embarcadero Center) that heavily emphasized pedestrian activity at street level.

Bibliography

References

External links

Portmanusa.com: website of the Portman architectural firm

Portmanholdings.com: website of the Portman real estate development firm

Johnportmanfilm.com: 'John Portman: A Life of Building'
nbsp;— ''film about Portman's life and works, aired on PBS stations in June 2013''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Portman, John 1924 births 2017 deaths American architects Modernist architects Postmodern architects Neo-futurism architecture American real estate businesspeople Real estate and property developers Architects from Atlanta Architects from South Carolina Georgia Tech alumni History of Atlanta People from Walhalla, South Carolina