In the heart of Buckhead, where creativity meets commerce, the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC) stands as a beacon for interior designers, architects, and design enthusiasts across the Southeast.
Its recently redesigned interior spaces lean heavily into Atlanta’s place as a design hub.
”It’s huge,” Katie Miner, executive vice president and general manager of ADAC,” tells AtlantaFi.com, referring to Atlanta’s place in the design industry.
Miner and a handful of designers were on hand for the ribbon-cutting of ADAC’s new design spaces on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
“People are in the Southeast grew up with design,” Miner says. “The moms and their parents had designed homes. They hired interior designers. So we have more of an affection towards it. Like, we love design in the Southeast. So to have ADAC here in Atlanta is just, it’s huge for the design community, but not just Atlanta. It’s the entire Southeast region.”
It’s quite common to have designers “that will come in from Nashville and Charlotte and Charleston and other areas just to shop this building,” because of all of the product offerings that are here located in one space, she says.
For over six decades, this premier hub at 351 Peachtree Hills Avenue has been more than just a showroom destination—it’s a testament to the visionary spirit of one man: legendary Atlanta architect John C. Portman Jr.
Atlanta’s Design Mastermind: John Portman Jr.
As Atlanta continues to evolve as a global city of innovation and style, Portman’s legacy at ADAC reminds us how one architect’s bold ideas reshaped not only skylines but also the very fabric of local design culture.
Portman, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 93, was a Georgia Tech alumnus whose neofuturistic designs revolutionized urban architecture worldwide.
Born in Walhalla, South Carolina, in 1924, he graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1950 and quickly made Atlanta his canvas. His breakthrough came with the completion of ADAC in 1961, a project he personally designed as a multifaceted marketplace to cater to the burgeoning needs of the design trade.
“Going back to Mr. Portman, who designed this building, it was born from his love of design,” Miner says of ADAC’s design. “He was an architect by trade, but his wife really loved interior design, and so he started this building for the design trade back in 1961 because of that love for design, and then just it kept evolving over time and growing and growing as more and more, he was able to bring more and more product offerings here to Atlanta.”
This wasn’t just another building; it was Portman’s early foray into creating integrated spaces that blended functionality with aesthetic grandeur, setting the stage for his more famous atrium-filled masterpieces.
What made ADAC revolutionary in its time? Portman envisioned it as a “one-stop shopping resource” for residential and contract furnishings, drawing in showrooms from top brands and fostering a community for professionals.
Founded amid Atlanta’s post-World War II boom, the center was strategically located in Peachtree Hills to serve the city’s growing elite and business class.
It quickly became intertwined with Portman’s other ventures, such as the nearby AmericasMart—another of his 1961 designs—that solidified Atlanta as a powerhouse for trade shows and conventions. Together, these projects helped transform Atlanta from a regional hub into an international destination, stimulating tourism and economic growth that still echoes today.
Portman’s significance to Atlanta cannot be overstated. He is credited with revitalizing downtown through the Peachtree Center complex, launched in 1965, which includes iconic structures like the Hyatt Regency Atlanta (with its pioneering 23-story atrium), the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, and the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
Newly Designed ADAC Studios Shine in Buckhead
These “cities within a city” concepts—massive, inwardly focused developments with soaring interiors—challenged traditional urban planning and made Atlanta’s skyline a symbol of modernist ambition.
Critics once dismissed his work as turning backs on the streets, but proponents hail it for humanizing vast spaces and enhancing daily life through “cinematic” environments that connect people to architecture on a personal level.
By the 1970s, Portman’s influence extended globally, with projects like the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles and the Renaissance Center in Detroit, but Atlanta remained his true north star.
Miner says look for ADAC to do big things in the future.
“ADAC is the largest design center in the Southeast — actually in the country, that serves the Southeast,” she says.
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