Honoring the Pioneering Architect’s Legacy Across the Design Industry and the Atlanta Skyline
Thomas W. Ventulett III
Ventulett’s rendering and watercolor concepts
ATLANTA, Sept. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TVS, the Atlanta-based architecture, master planning, and interior design firm, announces with deep sadness the peaceful passing of its co-founder, Thomas W. “Tom” Ventulett III, FAIA, on August 24, 2026, at the age of 90.
Ventulett co-founded Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates, now TVS, in 1968 alongside William H. Thompson Jr. (2023) and Raymond F. Stainback Jr., with the unwavering core belief that architecture is ultimately about human connection. Over the next five decades, his human-centered approach, artistic vision, and character as a true Southern gentleman helped transform Atlanta from a regional hub into a vibrant cultural capital of the South, while establishing TVS as a global authority in public assembly and civic design.
“Tom was a visionary, gentle leader who believed deeply in the power of design to bring people together,” said Janet Simpson, President of TVS. “He taught us that architecture begins with human empathy. His legacy is etched not only into the skylines of the cities he helped build, but in the culture of the firm he created and through his cherished role as friend, mentor, and teacher.”
Shaping Atlanta’s Civic Heart
Long before Atlanta’s rapid international expansion, Ventulett helped design the city’s built identity, touching nearly every significant gathering place. Within ten years of the firm’s founding, he shaped the core of Atlanta’s Downtown Sports and Entertainment District, designing landmarks including the Omni Coliseum (1972), the Georgia World Congress Center (1976), and Omni International (1976, later the CNN Center). These projects established the framework for the 1996 Olympic Park infrastructure, the Georgia Dome, the Georgia Aquarium, the College the Football Hall of Fame, and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium (2017). Beyond Downtown, his architectural voice influenced transformation across the city, from developments like the Promenade Campus (including the former AT&T building), and the adjacent Woodruff Arts Center, to the King & Queen towers. Most significantly, Ventulett’s design for his alma mater, Georgia Tech’s Technology Square, became the catalyst not only for the campus’s growth, but for Midtown’s emergence as one of the Southeast’s leading innovation districts.
A Global Legacy in Public Assembly
Sparked by the success of the Georgia World Congress Center, Ventulett’s mastery of civic architecture pioneered modern convention center design worldwide. His human-centric approach to monumental public spaces guided iconic projects from New York to Beijing, including the Javits Center, McCormick Place, and the New China International Exposition Center. In recognition of this design rigor and civic impact, TVS was bestowed with the AIA Architecture Firm Award in 2002, the American Institute of Architects’ highest honor.
Artist, Mentor, Teacher and Advocate
Rooted in connection, creativity, and mentorship, Ventulett’s devotion to the profession went beyond buildings. A gifted watercolor artist whose paintings breathed vitality, light, and warmth into early project concepts, he taught watercolor classes to architects and colleagues, instilling his appreciation for hand drawings. That passion extended to Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture (ARCH ’58), where he established the Thomas W. Ventulett III Distinguished Chair in Architectural Design to bridge practice and education.
“Tom understood that architecture is ultimately about people. It is about the people who imagine it, make it, inhabit it, and learn from it,” said Julie Ju-Youn Kim, FAIA, William H. Harrison Professor and Chair, School of Architecture at Georgia Tech. “Tom’s influence will remain part of the School of Architecture for generations to come.”
Ventulett was equally committed to the people who built TVS alongside him, maintaining an active presence as a cherished mentor until 2017. To give architects and designers a permanent stake in the firm, he initiated its transition to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 1979, which culminated in 100% employee ownership by 1998. That decision established the collaborative, non-ego culture that continues to define TVS today. Under the leadership of President Janet Simpson since 2017, the 150-person firm continues to build on his legacy of design excellence across a global portfolio with offices in Atlanta and Tampa.
Ventulett is survived by his children, Jonathan Ventulett, Holder, and Thomas P. Ventulett, along with six grandchildren, and preceded by his loving wife of 61 years, Elizabeth “Beth Ventulett (2019).
TVS will host a tribute to celebrate Tom’s life and professional legacy at its Atlanta office on Thursday, October 1, 2026. A public funeral service celebrating Ventulett’s life will be held at Atlanta’s Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church, a landmark sanctuary designed by Ventulett himself, at 1 p.m. on October 3, 2026.
About TVS
TVS is an award-winning architecture, master planning, and interior design firm with offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and Tampa, Florida. As a 100% employee-owned firm, TVS delivers high-impact environments, bringing thoughtful perspectives to civic, mixed-use, office and workplace, cultural, hospitality, convention center, sports, retail, education, and healthcare projects of every scale. This multi-disciplinary, multi-market diversity enables TVS to support its clients’ most complex aspirations.
Founded in 1968 by Bill Thompson, Tom Ventulett, and Ray Stainback, TVS established a strong footprint in Atlanta by designing premier cultural landmarks for the city, growing its geographical scope to include projects across the U.S. and around the globe. Collaborating closely with its clients, TVS purposefully crafts immersive environments that resonate with each unique audience and user while reflecting local contexts. For more, visit tvsdesign.com or @tvsdesign.
Media Kit: bit.ly/tom-ventulett
Attachments
- Thomas W. Ventulett III
- Ventulett’s rendering and watercolor concepts
CONTACT: Sarah Claypool Novità Communications [email protected] Katie Fosdick Novità Communications [email protected]
