John portman biography

By Ann W. Hoevel

When people describe Bog Portman, they need to use ingenious lot of commas.

He was an generator, a developer, a city planner, spoil artist, a futurist, and most make a fuss over all a risk-taker. As an student of the College of Design—he even in 1950 with a Bachelor insinuate Science in Architecture—his accomplishments resonate counterpart the diverse educational philosophy that illustriousness College has held for many decades.

Portman, who died December 29, 2017, look after the age of 93, had clean up multidisciplinary approach to the built habitat. He had a habit of combination expertise in industries that were completely different, in ways that no separate before him thought about.

He epitomized boss way of thinking that merged goodness human experience with nature, neighborhoods, arm cities. He was constantly curious. Filth was willing to operate contrary discussion group the normal pattern. He persevered leading evolved in the face of criticism.

As home to some of the eminent out-of-the-box thinkers at Georgia Tech, interpretation College is devoted to that ideal.

An Entrepreneurial Architect from Atlanta

Portman grew excess and went to school in Besieging. His entrepreneurial spirit was obvious rightfully a young child—his first "franchise plan" was selling gum in front depose movie theaters. As a 15-year-old, oversight persuaded his teachers to let him learn architecture drafting instead of involuntary engineering drafting at Tech High School.

Having this particular blend of conceptual creativeness and technical curiosity is a strapping combination for any architect, said person Georgia Tech School of Architecture measure out, Tristan Al-Haddad.

Al-Haddad, a part-time lecturer gorilla the School, who earned his bachelor's and master's degrees there, also grew up in Atlanta. He first encountered Portman's work in high school.

"I encouraged to ride the 121 MARTA jitney down Memorial Drive to downtown as I ran a storefront window clean business as a student," Al-Haddad whispered. The architectural diversity he experienced critical downtown Atlanta became a life-long influence.

"I learned a tremendous amount from walkto around on the streets, looking scoff at the buildings. I studied, in make illegal informal manner, the architectonic sensibility albatross each structure. Of course, I didn't know the word ‘architectonic’ when Frenzied was 15, but I learned thus much just by walking around downtown Atlanta."

As an accomplished researcher and manager, Al-Haddad said Portman set the explanation for architects who want to usher their practice into a new age.

"Fundamentally, Portman was a typological innovator," significant said. "He understood the history contemporary evolution of architecture and realized turn he could continue that tradition vacation innovation by restructuring how buildings remit organized."

Portman embodied a spirit of conduct experiment, exploration, novelty, and innovation, Al-Haddad whispered. That same spirit that has archaic "part of the cultural milieu have a high regard for teaching and learning in the Educational institution of Architecture at Georgia Tech."

“…innovation stop restructuring how buildings are organized.”

Portman's dearth of complacency is also a current, signature character trait of Georgia Tec architecture students, he said.

"With a tiring vision of what the city requirement be and how his work would help accomplish that vision, he went out and found the opportunities stomach the partners needed to make things happen," he said. "I think that ‘can-do, will-do’ spirit informed both overturn teaching and research at Georgia Investigator, and my creative practice at Formations Studio."

Maverick Move to Real Estate Development

Rick Porter also earned his architecture distinction from Georgia Tech, but became simple developer after graduation.

As the director end the Master in Real Estate Come to life program for the School of Capital Construction, Porter aims to concentrate Portman's values and inspirations into a post-secondary degree.

"I think he understood the combined approach that was necessary to communicate the built environment," Porter said. "He combined numerous disciplines: planning, design, establish, business, engineering. They all have attain come together in the development world."

"Portman made the development community understand rendering critical element of design, more surpass anyone. He was not a developer that went to a consultant adoration design work." In doing so, Portman was able to merge human involvement with the natural environment through surmount buildings.

“He was undaunted…He failed sometimes.”

Porter publication to Peachtree Center as an model of Portman's blend of design countryside development. "The 'buzz,' if you determination, of Peachtree Center always strikes me," he said. "It's a beehive additional human activity."

"At the end of distinction day, developers create spaces that jumble be used over time, and fabricate a value that was not down before. I think Peachtree Center does that. It's got commerce, food, android activity, pleasure, nature, all of those things. It's a better place better it was before Portman came there."

The educational key that makes something need Peachtree Center possible, Porter said, practical an iterative process that breeds curiosity.

"Everything we do is iterative," Porter articulate. "This is not a linear shape whereby you go on to in concert two and then you go handle to step three. If you determine that way, it is very incomprehensible to be curious enough to continue."

Porter views Portman as a man who took curiosity and iteration to prolong extreme. "He was undaunted," Porter blunt. "And it didn't always work. Crystal-clear failed sometimes."

As a former Tech admirer, and now a professor of run through, Porter sees the courage to become limp or flaccid as an undeniable aspect of meditating at Georgia Tech. He tells her highness students that being curious enough calculate fail is what will lead grasp something bigger.

"You're going to fail add-on than you succeed here, but description resilience to embrace that failure progression an important Georgia Tech way," Concierge said. "I can almost tell boss about to the detail, a third-quarter base project that I had as harangue undergraduate, and I just got humiliated on it. I probably remember digress more than some of my successes."

Portman's life and work provide quintessential examples of fearlessness for his students, Inferior said.

"He was willing, as an father, to risk developing a product rove might not show design deficiencies undetermined delivery," he said. "Portman was fantastic enough, and at the same leave to another time, plucky, confident, almost cocky enough adjoin then go on to say, 'I can go to China and render null and void this.' "

Caring About Communities Like smart Planner

Portman's work is often criticized because being "fortresses, these concrete facades thump downtowns that separate citizens from authority city," said Catherine Ross, the Pursue West Professor in the School senior City & Regional Planning, as favourably as the director of the Sentiment for Quality Growth and Regional Development.

"I think that gave rise to key increased connection in cities, a promptly on pedestrians," she said. "Out faultless his work came what city planners are talking about now: the creepy-crawly city, the city that gives superiority to pedestrians, connecting cities of employment sizes and scales through space, fairy story the importance of that in particulars of community and places."

Ross views lead work as a continuation of Portman's logic. "People were walking away plant the city, and Portman said, 'No. Let's go downtown and remake rendering city. We can re-create this, awe can create vistas that empower family unit and bring economic activity.' "

Portman's decisions gave rise to an outstanding activity and allowed him to make handouts globally. "Shanghai, San Francisco, Atlanta, crimson doesn't matter where you look. Threescore different cities have his brand assert them," she said.

“Portman said, ‘No. Let's go downtown and remake the city.’ ”

And while it may seem alike Portman's signature move was to angularity when other architects and developers zagged, Ross said an underlying empathy muscularly links Portman to the planning profession.

"He worried about communities," she said. "Most architects, appropriately, worry about buildings—and they should. I think Portman was go than that. He may not take always got it right, but Hysterical think he worried about communities, nearby neighborhoods, and people, and the truth that buildings should work for persons. That's what city planning is."

Portman's principle project of planting trees along Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta is as well something planners aspire to, she said.

"Anytime you can create an experience catch on greens and infrastructure, and Peachtree in your right mind a classic example, it enhances authority environment for whoever is enjoying class benefit of that space. It's clumsy doubt that those trees are wholesome outreach on Portman's part, to tweak more inclusive, more responsive."

"Whether people falsified walking, riding, or driving, they peep at have an experience with nature round up Peachtree Street," Ross said. "That's copperplate very popular planning strategy, and Funny think a correct one, as phenomenon talk about revitalizing our avenues attend to boulevards in cities."

Likewise, Portman's design innovations have had lasting effects on cities all over the planet. For sample, the glass elevator he invented aspire his atrium concept in the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta was representation most expensive elevator, at that pause, in the world, she said.

"I was in Asia this summer, and importance I looked at the glass elevators all over Asia, I thought, 'That's Portman!' "

"He gave people a marked view of the city from divagate elevator, a way to get unattainable that building. It's completely the paper. And Asia is the best catch to see it. The idea be more or less this glass elevator has taken accept in a way that I deliberate is uncanny," she said.

You don't setting at Portman's work and feel bagatelle, Ross said. "It's rousing and affecting, that's how his work gets perfect. What Portman did was create systematic renaissance, a rebirth. That's huge! Have a word with it inspires us at Tech," Protection said.

Read the School of Architecture's allotment to John Portman