AIA Asheville will screen the film John Portman: A Life of Building at its Wednesday, April 25 Section Meeting, 12noon, Trinity Episcopal Church, 60 Church Street, Downtown Asheville. Reservations required; contact rsvp@aiaasheville.org
Architect-developer John Portman, FAIA, almost single-handedly changed the hospitality typology. Documentary producer Ben Loeterman, in John Portman: A Life of Building, helps us look with fresh eyes at the architect’s work. Starting with Atlanta’s Hyatt Regency in 1967 (now part of the Atlanta Merchandise Mart), the 87-year-old founder of John Portman & Associates has designed countless hotels and convention centers around the country and the world, including the Bonaventure in Los Angeles, the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta and the Shanghai Centre. Although Portman has been criticized for designing introverted buildings that separate guests from their urban surroundings, commendation comes just as freely from critics such as Paul Goldberger and Herbert Muschamp, who famously described Portman’s better buildings as being like “architecture at happy hour.” http://www.johnportmanfilm.com/