Architect John Portman, often credited as the father of the massive hotel atrium, has passed away in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. No cause of death has been announced.
His firm, John Portman & Associates, has released the following statement, along with a website celebrating his legacy:
Atlanta lost one of her greatest champions with the passing of John C. Portman, Jr. on Friday, December 29, 2017 at the age of 93. The leadership and vision of Mr. Portman were instrumental in moving Atlanta from a gracious Southern city into a vibrant world capital. As an architect, entrepreneur, artist and altruist, John Portman had a dramatic impact on Atlanta's success and growth as a major international city, and he was instrumental in having similar impact on other cities throughout the world.
A little over a year ago David Cole penned this love letter, in the form of an Archinect forum thread, "You never forget your first love: An ode to John Portman"
My youth was pretty sheltered, architecturally speaking. While I had an interest in architecture at an early age, I was never really exposed to the big names like Kahn and Corbu until I began my undergrad degree in Chicago.
My first love? The architecture of John Portman, back when I was in high school in northern Florida and Atlanta was the center of the universe. The first monograph I ever bought was his, and his Marriott Marquis in Atlanta was the first bit of Architecture with a capital "A" that I ever went out of my way to visit -- even though it meant sneaking away from my church youth group during a visit to Atlanta, while they were having lunch at the Varsity. (That expedition via MARTA was also the first time I ever rode a real subway.) The larger-than-life atrium space seemed to have been lifted right out of a sci-fi movie.
Portman was a bit of a pariah at the time; Urbanists hated him because his projects were seen as inward-looking megastructures, and the architectural elite hated him because he was also a developer and not particularly theoretical in his design approach -- at least not in the way that was in vogue at the time.
But times change, and Portman finally seems to be getting some overdue respect. His detractors of the time -- New Urbanists who touted anti-urban, faux-historic greenfield developments like Celebration, Florida, and the postmodernists whose projects now look as dated as rolled jeans and popped collars -- have fallen out of favor, and elite firms like SHoP Architects are now being applauded for their innovation when they take on equity stakes in the projects they design.
Portman's way of designing -- with the human experience at its core -- seems to be gaining momentum again, and being a fan of his work no longer seems like a guilty pleasure. It feels good to be vindicated. Part of me has always hoped to design a huge atrium hotel like the Marriott Marquis or the Embarcadero Hyatt, but my own design sensibilities have evolved, and the building codes now make it almost impossible to build a monumental-scale atrium lobby like the Hyatt or the Marquis today.
But you never forget your first love. Here's to you, John Portman.
6 Comments
The King of Late Modern Atrium Hotels, RIP. Lots of interesting ideas in his work to unpack. Amazing what you can accomplish with a good idea and a great client (!)
I wonder if his work is a result of a more architecture-friendly time--that a developer-ish Portman had serious design ambition and could execute it. Perhaps there are more Portmans today, but they aren't getting popular media attention.
"Perhaps there are more Portmans today, but they aren't getting popular media attention. "
I'm working on it. Will be up in a few weeks : architectanddeveloper.com
Nice. I've seen a lot of talented architect/developers, think it's the best model for architecture--but they aren't getting media attention yet. Though it still requires more investment from architects--which is good for successful firms. Would like to see new funding models that pay architects more depending on the successes of the buildings.
once a week, I walk through Embarcadero center in SF, its like a city within a city - its the sunlit courtyards at the base of the 4 towers where time stands still
https://www.google.com/search?q=embarcadero+center+courtyards%27&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjB9o-O77nYAhVHwFQKHVIoCPkQ_AUICigB&biw=910&bih=712#imgrc=JIMsgX-wzjC4gM:
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