The Atlanta architect known for his ‘Jesus moments’ – when visitors would look up and exclaim ‘Jesus!’– remade his home town in ways few get to architects get to do

Atlanta is the future. At least, makers of films and TV series think so, sometimes you see its towers; sometimes soaring, swirling atria of unreadable scale. They tend to convey megalomania, dystopia and disorientation. This cinematic Atlanta was shaped by one man in particular, the architect-developer John Portman, who until he died last year spent almost all his 93 years in the city. The most significant effects of Portman’s work go beyond taste...