JOHN PORTMAN: A LIFE OF BUILDING

New Documentary Exploring Life, Work and Legacy of

Iconoclastic Atlanta Architect John Portman to Premiere On Georgia Public Broadcasting on Wednesday May 23 at 7:00 PM

“All of Portman’s work is theatricality. There’s a flamboyance… h e thinks very much in terms of

how you move through it. It’s cinematic in a way. He has his own vision and his own way of doing things that are not like anybody else.” — Architecture critic Paul Goldberger

f you’ve ever walked into a hotel with a soaring atrium and looked upward, then you know the work and legacy of one of the world’s most revolutionary architects — John Portman. Once a maverick nearly

run out of the American Institute of Architects, At lanta nat ive Portman is now recognized as one of the most innovative and imitated architects ever. Directed by two-time Emmy-winning producer Ben Loeterman, John Portman: A Life of Building will air throughout Georgia on GPB on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 7:00 PM. The film is distributed by American Public Television (APT). Over the last 45 years, John Portman’s iconic urban statements and eye-popping interiors have risen in sixty cities on four continents, redefining cityscapes such as Times Square in New York and Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, and skylines in Shanghai and Beijing, and transforming his hometown of Atlanta Atlanta Marriott Marquis into an world-class city and architectural showcase. Refusing to accept the status quo, Portman redefined what is possible in architecture, revitalizing neighborhoods and entire cities in the process. His unique approach — one that blurs the line between private and public space and is passionately people-centric

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— is now embraced by the industry’s top critics and taught at the country’s leading architecture schools. Forgoing a traditional narrator, John Portman: A Life of Building relies on interviews with architecture and art critics, business associates and Portman himself to tell his story. Dramatic time-lapse footage illuminates Portman’s buildings — often in moving sunlight that washes over their layered facades and grand spaces, while the film’s score captures the modern yet classical themes of Portman’s designs. Today, Portman’s major credits include imprints on urban environments from New York to Shanghai but it was Portman’s first hotel, the Hyatt Regency in his hometown of Atlanta, which vaulted him to fame. In 1967, hotels were dull, boxy designs with double-loaded corridors and unimaginative facades. As he has done so many times since, Portman saw a chance to redefine the genre. At tremendous financial risk, the young developer undertook to build a new hotel — then hired himself as its architect. It was a brash move that earned him the scorn of many of his peers.

Undaunted, Portman proposed a radical concept — rooms lining a 27-story high atrium with an exposed elevator core and lighted glass cars zipping up and down. But when he tried to sell his design to leading hoteliers, all the major chains turned him down. But one unlikely operator recognized Portman’s visionary design for what it was: revolutionary. Until then, the Pritzker family of Chicago had run a small chain of nondescript airport

Enterlechy II, Sea Island, GA motels called Hyatt. They quickly saw that Portman provided a way to prominence and that once their name went up on the hotel everyone would want to know about them. Not only did the design for the Hyatt Regency fly, but the form soared worldwide, making Portman “one of the most copied architects,” says Harvard professor Michael Hays. Says Goldberger, “Portman created this whole notion that a modern hotel could be a place of visual excitement, of energy — could focus as a kind of town square.” Today, Portman’s major credits include New York’s Marriott Marquis, which jump-started the revitalization of Times Square, the Renaissance Center in Detroit, the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles, and the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco. Portman’s American successes begat a string of international projects, most recently in Asia, including Tomorrow Square, the centerpiece of Shanghai’s neon-buzzing downtown.

The film goes inside two of Portman’s most beautiful and personal buildings, his Atlanta home Entelechy I and his Sea Island compound, Entelechy II. Interviews in the film include John Portman, former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, architecture critic Paul Goldberger, Harvard University professors Mack Scogin and Michael Hays, business associates Mickey Steinberg and A.J. Robinson, architect Jacque Robertson, art critic Robert Craig; with children Jarel, Michael, Jana, Jack and Jeff Portman. Portman continues to design buildings as well as paint and sculpt. Says Portman, “I’m an architect. Everything I’ve done has grown out of my relationship to architecture because architecture is the housing of humanity and all of its activities. It is such an integral part of life.” About John Portman Recognized throughout the world for his innovative design, John Portman did not always follow traditional paths. Always eager to try new concepts, early in his career he pioneered the role of architect as developer to allow more freedom in implementation of his design concepts. His keen business sense and entrepreneurial spirit enabled him to develop many profitable projects. A graduate of Georgia Tech, Portman’s impact is greatest in his hometown of Atlanta where today the 14-block Peachtree Center complex attests to his commitment to the downtown business district and includes many of his landmark projects. Peachtree Center began in 1960 with the opening of the Atlanta Merchandise Mart. The Mart has since grown to become AmericasMart, the world’s largest single wholesale marketplace. By stimulating trade and tourism, Portman was the catalyst that established Atlanta as one of the nation’s premiere convention cities. His three major downtown hotels, the Hyatt Regency, Westin Peachtree Plaza, and Marriott Marquis, anchor the convention district. From the opening of the Hyatt Regency in 1967, with its 22-story atrium, Portman made architectural history and won international acclaim. Paul Goldberger of The New York Times wrote: “He (Portman) is the only architect of his era to create not only a series of significant buildings, but a new urban type.” Paul Gapp of The Chicago Tribune wrote at the time: “The most influential living American architect is John Calvin Portman, Jr.,” further adding, “countless other architects have copied him but the music just isn’t the same.” Portman is best known for his urban mixed-use complexes wherein his understanding of people and their response to space translates into enhanced environments and award-winning architecture. From Embarcadero Center in San Francisco and Times Square in New York to Marina Square in Singapore and Shanghai Centre in China, he has taken people away from the congestion of urban life to create spaces that are open and uplifting to the human spirit. Portman’s love of art is evident in all that he does. He supports the arts, he collects, and he, himself, is a painter and sculptor. About the Filmmaker Ben Loeterman is an accomplished producer of historical and current affairs documentaries. His work appeared on the PBS series Frontline during its first 18 seasons starting in 1982. Loeterman focused on criminal justice, the film industry, investigative reporting and

international affairs. Major credits include What Jennifer Saw, Inside the Terror Network, and The Triumph of Evil. Loeterman has also produced for the PBS series American Experience. Major credits include Golden Gate Bridge, Public Enemy #1, about desperado John Dillinger, and Rescue at Sea, about a 1909 spectacular use of wireless three years before the Titanic disaster. Loeterman has received an Amnesty International’s Media Spotlight Award, two national Emmy’s and two duPont-Columbia journalism awards. In 2009, he wrote and directed The People v Leo Frank, a dramatized documentary set in Atlanta and broadcast nationally on PBS about one of the most fascinating criminal cases in US history. Major John Portman Projects in Georgia 1953 Fraternal Order of Eagles, Atlanta 1954 Dr. Charles T. Henderson, Doctor’s Office Building, Atlanta 1955 Samuel T. Lemer Residence, Atlanta 1956 Midway Elementary School, Decatur 1961 Atlanta Merchandise Mart, Atlanta 1961 Georgia Institute of Technology, Infirmary, Joseph B. Whitehead Building, Atlanta 1961 Atlanta Decorative Arts Center, Atlanta 1961 YMCA, Rome 1962 Hawthorne Elementary School, Atlanta 1963 Sequoyah High School, Doraville 1964 Entelechy I, Atlanta 1964 Trailways Garage and Parking Deck, Atlanta 1965 Greenbriar Shopping Center, Atlanta 1965 Atlanta School Service Center, Atlanta 1965 230 Peachtree Office Tower, Atlanta 1965 Antoine Graves Home, Atlanta 1965 Agnes Scott College, Dana Fine Arts Center, Charles A. Dana Building, Decatur 1965 Greenbriar Rich’s, Atlanta 1965 Greenbriar Theater, Atlanta 1965 Herndon Elementary School, Atlanta 1966 Spalding Drive Elementary School, Atlanta 1967 Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta 1967 C. W. Hill Elementary School, Atlanta 1967 Henderson High School, Chamblee 1968 Gas Light Tower, Peachtree Center, Atlanta 1968 The Midnight Sun Restaurant, Atlanta 1968 Trailways Bus Terminal, Atlanta 1970 South Tower, Peachtree Center, Atlanta 1971 John F. Kennedy School & Community Center, Atlanta 1971 Alfred Blalock Elementary School, Atlanta 1974 Cain Tower, Peachtree Center, Atlanta 1975 Harris Tower, Peachtree Center, Atlanta 1975 Peachtree Center Shopping Gallery, Atlanta 1976 The Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta 1979 Atlanta Apparel Mart, Atlanta

1983 Emory University, Physical Education Center, George Woodruff Building, Atlanta 1985 Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Atlanta 1985 Marquis One Office Tower, Atlanta 1986 Entelechy II, Sea Island 1986 Emory University Student Center, Howard Dobbs Building, Atlanta 1986 Northpark 400 Office Tower, Atlanta 1988 Marquis Two Office Tower, Atlanta 1989 Peachtree Center Athletic Club, Atlanta 1989 Northpark 500 Office Tower, Atlanta 1989 Inforum Technology Center, Atlanta 1989 Riverwood 100 Office Tower, Atlanta 1992 Atlanta Gift Mart, Atlanta 1993 SunTrust Plaza, Atlanta 1996 Georgia Institute of Technology, Center Street Apartments, Atlanta 1997 Albany State College Master Plan, Albany 1999 Southern Polytechnic State University, Atrium Classroom Building, Marietta 1999 Georgia Southern University, College of Education Building, Statesboro 2000 SunTrust Plaza Garden Offices, Atlanta 2000 Columbus State University Master Plan, Columbus 2001 East Georgia College Master Plan, Swainsboro 2001 Georgia Southern University Master Plan, Statesboro 2002 Georgia Gwinnett College, Student Center, Lawrenceville 2003 Middle Georgia College Master Plan, Dublin 2004 Thomas University Master Plan, Thomasville 2004 Macon State College, Nursing, Health Science & Outreach Complex, Macon 2006 Savannah State University Master Plan, Savannah About American Public Television American Public Television (APT) has been a leading distributor of high-quality, top-rated programming to America’s public television stations since 1961. Since 2004, APT has distributed approximately half of the top 100 highest-rated public television titles. Among its 300 new program titles per year are prominent documentaries, news and current affairs programs, dramatic series, how-to programs, children’s series and classic movies, including For Love of Liberty: The Story of America’s Black Patriots, A Ripple of Hope, Rick Steves' Europe, Newsline, Globe Trekker, Simply Ming, Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope, America's Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, Lidia's Italy, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, Midsomer Murders, Moyers & Company, Doc Martin, Rosemary & Thyme, BBC World News, The Rat Pack: Live and Swingin’, Johnny Mathis: Wonderful, Wonderful! and John Denver: The Wildlife Concert. APT also licenses programs internationally through its APT Worldwide service. In 2006, APT launched and nationally distributed Create® – the TV channel featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming. APT is also a partner in the WORLD™ channel expansion project including its web presence at WORLDcompass.org. For more information about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org. For more information on Create, visit CreateTV.com.

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More information, additional press materials and downloadable photos are available at www.johnportmanfilm.com DVDs are available through the web site for $19.95.

Watch the trailer at: http://vimeo.com/blpi/johnportmanfilmtrailer

Press Contacts: CaraMar Inc. Cara White 843 881 1480 cara@caramar.net Mary Lugo 770 623 8190 lugo@negia.net Abbe Harris 908.233.7990 abbe@caramar.net