Jack Portman Obituary, Death –According to a tribute that was published on the website of the namesake global architecture business that was established by his late father, John C. Portman Jr., in Atlanta in 1953, real estate developer and architect John C. “Jack” Portman III passed away at the age of 71 from natural causes. A graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), the younger Portman started working at the firm in 1973 as an apprentice architect.
At the time of his passing, he held the title of chairman and CEO, a leadership role that he had assumed following the passing of the elder Portman in December 2017 at the age of 93. The elder Portman was a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD). During his nearly half-century-long career at Portman Architects (previously known as John Portman & Associates), which is now known simply as Portman Architects, Portman was a pivotal influence in the company’s real estate development business.
Jack Portman was a scion in the strictest sense of the word; yet, the paths that he and his father took were different, and despite this, they both made substantial contributions to the expansion and reputation of the legendary Southeast firm. The elder Portman is best known for reshaping the modern skyline of Atlanta with the Peachtree Center complex and three enormous downtown hotels famed for their atria-centered interiors. These hotels could have easily served as backdrops in any science-fiction film or TV show released in the 1970s or 1980s (and in fact, some of his buildings have served in this capacity).
The elder Portman is regarded as a visionary. While his father built his name by creating quirky, neo-futuristic hotels and other projects in big American cities, the younger Portman led the charge in growing the firm internationally. His father made his name by designing idiosyncratic, neo-futuristic hotels and other projects in major American cities. Notably, Portman turned his sights on China and was responsible for the design and construction of Shanghai Centre. According to the tribute, this was the first significant project in China to be overseen by a non-ethnically Chinese architect or developer in several decades when it opened in 1990. Portman is being honored for his contributions to the field of architecture.