John Portman
2013 Recipient
Portman Holdings Founder & Chairman
John C. Portman, Jr. was the founder and Chairman of the Board of Portman Holdings, the real estate development firm, John Portman & Associates, the architectural and engineering firm, and AmericasMart®, the world’s largest trade mart. Mr. Portman began his career with a two-man architectural practice and transformed it into an international organization of companies that span the fields of architecture, real estate development and trade marts.
Portman pioneered the role of Architect as Developer by developing, owning, managing and designing large real estate projects in major cities around the world. His philosophy of architecture is rooted in his desire to understand and shape the aesthetic as well as the economic dimensions of the urban environment to create projects that best fulfill the needs and emotions of the people who use them, that are catalysts for economic development for the cities in which they are located and are successful investments for the project investors.
