{"177961":{"#nid":"177961","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Architect John Portman Receives Honorary Degree","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022BasicParagraph\u0022\u003EThere is no stronger or more dynamic role model than John Portman for contemporary students in the Georgia Tech College of Architecture. Brilliant architect, his artwork, his career and his life embody an ambition and drive that few possess. At age 88 Portman has not \u2018retired\u2019 but can be found in his office everyday pursuing new projects and new horizons with the same intensity that ignited his career decades ago.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003ETo say that John Portman is an innovator is not an adequate description of the man whose vision and career has spanned decades and continents, and who has succeeded in architecture, real estate development, finance and management.\u0026nbsp; His global architectural practice and development companies became the benchmark for mixed-use complexes, urban landmarks and major resorts worldwide.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022BasicParagraph\u0022\u003EAfter receiving his architecture degree in 1950, Portman served a three-year apprenticeship with Stevens \u0026amp; Wilkinson in Atlanta.\u0026nbsp;In 1953, he established his own two-person firm in downtown Atlanta, which merged three years later with the well-established practice of the late H. Griffith Edwards (also a Georgia Tech alumnus), who was a former professor of his at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;The firm was Edwards and Portman until Edwards\u2019 retirement in 1968, at which time the firm became John Portman \u0026amp; Associates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;In 1966 he challenged traditional hotel design with the invention of an \u201copen atrium\u201d which transformed the industry and became the Portman signature in the design of the Westin, Marriott Marquis and Hyatt Regency hotels.\u0026nbsp; Portman continued to challenge urban design norms and created urban promenades in downtown Atlanta simultaneously revitalizing the city\u2019s downtown while creating pedestrian circulation and interaction above the streets. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022BasicParagraph\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Today, John Portman \u0026amp; Associates is a major international architecture and engineering firm with offices in Atlanta and Shanghai. Portman\u2019s Shanghai office, John Portman \u0026amp; Associates International, was established in 1993 and was one of the first foreign architectural firms to work in China.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022BasicParagraph\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;His buildings in Atlanta include: the Westin, Marriott Marquis, and Hyatt Regency hotels; One Peachtree Center; Merchandise Mart, Gift Mart, and Apparel Mart; Decorative Arts Center; Inforum; Woodruff Physical Education Center and Dobbs Student Center at Emory University; and the Dana Fine Arts Building at Agnes Scott College. He designed his home in Atlanta Entelechy, and later the wonderful Entelechy II, on Sea Island.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022BasicParagraph\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;He has extensive projects across the world including the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco; Pavilion Hotel and Marina Square in Singapore; and the Shanghai Centre in China and most recently won the competition to develop the site of the Shanghai Expo (see above) into a spectacular hotel complex.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech honored John Portman with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy, the first architect to be so honored by the Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27202","created_gmt":"2012-12-17 15:43:44","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:22","author":"David Morton","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-12-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-12-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"178041":{"id":"178041","type":"image","title":"John Portman Addresses the Graduating Class","body":null,"created":"1449179039","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:59","changed":"1475894822","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:02","alt":"John Portman Addresses the Graduating Class","file":{"fid":"195994","name":"gt_commencement-jp1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt_commencement-jp1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt_commencement-jp1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":92269,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gt_commencement-jp1.jpg?itok=j48JnFWa"}},"177951":{"id":"177951","type":"image","title":"John Portman\u0027s Hotel Expo Complex, Shaghai","body":null,"created":"1449179039","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:59","changed":"1475894822","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:02","alt":"John Portman\u0027s Hotel Expo Complex, Shaghai","file":{"fid":"195989","name":"portman_shanghai.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/portman_shanghai.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/portman_shanghai.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":52346,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/portman_shanghai.jpg?itok=VOheKt8z"}},"178031":{"id":"178031","type":"image","title":"John Portman","body":null,"created":"1449179039","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:59","changed":"1475894822","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:02","alt":"John Portman","file":{"fid":"195993","name":"gt_commencement-jp5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt_commencement-jp5.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt_commencement-jp5.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":58168,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gt_commencement-jp5.jpg?itok=ULHUJB2k"}},"177991":{"id":"177991","type":"image","title":"Chancellor Henry \u0022Hank\u0022 Huckaby, John Portman, President G. P. \u0022Bud\u0022 Peterson","body":null,"created":"1449179039","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:59","changed":"1475894822","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:02","alt":"Chancellor Henry \u0022Hank\u0022 Huckaby, John Portman, President G. P. \u0022Bud\u0022 Peterson","file":{"fid":"195940","name":"gt_commencement-jp.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt_commencement-jp_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt_commencement-jp_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":907127,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gt_commencement-jp_0.jpg?itok=tVgvM43j"}},"178021":{"id":"178021","type":"image","title":"John Portman receives Honorary Doctorate from President Peterson","body":null,"created":"1449179039","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:59","changed":"1475894822","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:02","alt":"John Portman receives Honorary Doctorate from President Peterson","file":{"fid":"195992","name":"gt_commencement-jp2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt_commencement-jp2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gt_commencement-jp2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":75269,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gt_commencement-jp2.jpg?itok=OPZpm5GK"}}},"media_ids":["178041","177951","178031","177991","178021"],"groups":[{"id":"1221","name":"College of Design"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"}],"keywords":[{"id":"175","name":"Architecture"},{"id":"5884","name":"john portman"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.morton@coa.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDavid Morton\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.morton@coa.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}