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

neofuturistic Neo-futurism is a late-20th to early-21st-century movement in the arts, design, and architecture. Described as an avant-garde movement, as well as a futuristic rethinking of the thought behind aesthetics and functionality of design in growing ...

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 Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to othe ...

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,

Westin Westin Hotels & Resorts is an American upscale hotel chain owned by Marriott International. , the Westin Brand has 226 properties with 82,608 rooms in multiple countries in addition to 58 hotels with 15,741 rooms in the pipeline. History Wester ...

, 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 hote ...

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 in 1950. His firm completed the Merchandise Mart (now

AmericasMart AmericasMart Atlanta is a wholesale trade center located in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The exhibition center is one of the largest permanent wholesale trade centers in the world. AmericasMart Atlanta consists of three buildings totaling seven mi ...

) 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 ...

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 for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Embarcadero Center Embarcadero Center is a commercial complex of five office towers, two hotels, a shopping center with more than 125 stores, bars, and restaurants, and a fitness center on three levels located in San Francisco, California. There is an outdoor ice sk ...

(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 d ...

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

Westin Bonaventure Hotel The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites is a , 33- story hotel in Los Angeles, California, constructed between 1974 and 1976. It was designed by architect John C. Portman Jr.. The top floor has a revolving restaurant and bar. It was originally ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

(1974–1976), the New York Marriott Marquis (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 t ...

(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 Shanghai Centre () is located on West Nanjing Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai. It is a comprehensive building complex consisting of three towers rising from an eight-storey base. Designed by John C. Portman, Jr., the Shanghai Centre was one o ...

(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 Peg ...

, 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

(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 nin ...

, 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, 1971 *

One Embarcadero Center One Embarcadero Center is a class-A office skyscraper in the Financial District of San Francisco, California. The building is part of the Embarcadero Center complex of six interconnected buildings and one off-site extension. The skyscraper, co ...

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

Four Embarcadero Center Four Embarcadero Center is a class-A office skyscraper in the Financial District of San Francisco, California. The building is part of the Embarcadero Center complex of six interconnected buildings and one off-site extension. The skyscraper, c ...

, 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, 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, 1969–1974 *

Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta, is a skyscraper hotel on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, adjacent to the Peachtree Center complex and the former Davison's/Macy's flagship store with 1,073 rooms. At and 73 stories, a tota ...

, Atlanta, 1976 *

, 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 (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, bor ...

, 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, 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 19 ...

, 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 Mandarin Oriental, Singapore is a luxury hotel located in Marina Centre next to Marina Square Shopping Mall and near Suntec City, home to one of Asia Pacific's largest convention centres – the Suntec Singapore International Convention and E ...

, 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 Pan Pacific Singapore is a hotel located in Marina Centre, Singapore, and operated by the Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts. With 38 floors, it is the tallest among the three hotels which are part of the Marina Square development, the other two be ...

, 1986 * Entelechy II, Sea Island, 1986 * New York Marriott Marquis,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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

Sandy Springs Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia and an inner ring suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's seventh-largest city. It is the site of several corporate headquarters, i ...

** Northpark 400, 1986 ** Northpark 500, 1989 ** Northpark 600, 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. T ...

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

1990s

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 flowin ...

, China, 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 (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 (short for ''Capital Square''),

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

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, 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 (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 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,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, 2003 *

Tomorrow Square Tomorrow Square () is the eighth-tallest building in Shanghai, China. It is located in Huangpu District, Puxi, close to People's Square. It is about 285 m (934 ft) tall and has 63 floors. This multi-purpose building contains a 342-r ...

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

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, India, 2004 * Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, Schaumburg, 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 eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, 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 498,7 ...

, Georgia Institute of Technology, Midtown Atlanta, 2017

Awards and honors

* 1968 Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

* 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

* 2009 The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award –

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings and sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States ...

* 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 ...

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 New York Marriott Marquis 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

) 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