Thomas W. Ventulett III

Ventulett died peacefully on 24 August 2026 at the age of 90. TVS announced his death publicly on 24 September 2026, describing him as cofounder and FAIA. No cause of death was disclosed beyond the firm's statement that the passing was peaceful. The firm scheduled a tribute at its Atlanta office on 1 October 2026 and a public funeral at Holy Innocents' Episcopal Church in Atlanta, a sanctuary he had designed, at 1 p.m. on 3 October 2026. Tributes came from TVS president Janet Simpson and from Julie Ju-Youn Kim at Georgia Tech's School of Architecture.

Thomas W. Ventulett III was born in 1935 in Albany, Georgia. His family moved during his childhood, living for a time in DeFuniak Springs and later in Miami and Coral Gables, Florida, while his father served in the Navy. He chose Georgia Tech for architecture after an uncle offered to support his tuition. Drawing came naturally to him; after a difficult first quarter he learned to study consistently and thrived in the School of Architecture. He was involved in Army ROTC, campus publications and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, married Beth during his fourth year, graduated in 1958, completed active duty and reserve service, and began professional practice before cofounding his own firm.

In 1968 Ventulett cofounded Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback and Associates (later TVS) in Atlanta with Bill Thompson and Ray Stainback. He led design on early projects that defined downtown Atlanta's gathering core: the Omni Coliseum, the Georgia World Congress Center and Omni International. The firm's specialty in convention centres and public assembly spread to dozens of cities, with work linked to major facilities such as the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Salt Palace, McCormick Place expansions and international exposition projects. In Midtown and north Atlanta the practice shaped projects including the Promenade campus, Campanile, Woodruff Arts Center renovations, Technology Square, Concourse Corporate Center's King and Queen towers, and green-leaning workplace campuses such as the UPS headquarters. TVS received the AIA Architecture Firm Award in 2002. Ventulett remained a mentor at the firm through 2017.

Ventulett married Elizabeth "Beth" Ventulett; they were married for 61 years until her death in 2019. They had three children, Jonathan Ventulett, Holder, and Thomas P. Ventulett, and six grandchildren. Outside practice he was a watercolor artist who taught hand drawing to architects and colleagues, and he stayed closely tied to Georgia Tech as lecturer, accreditation participant, employer of graduates and donor of the Thomas W. Ventulett III Distinguished Chair in Architectural Design. Colleagues often described him as a Southern gentleman whose belief that architecture is about people guided both his buildings and his firm culture, including the ESOP path to full employee ownership.

Ventulett's legacy rests in the civic buildings that host conventions, sports and culture in Atlanta and in cities far beyond, and in a firm culture built on employee ownership and mentorship. Technology Square and downtown Atlanta's assembly district remain among the most visible traces of his urban vision. The Ventulett Chair at Georgia Tech continues to link practice and education. TVS, about 150 people strong under later leadership with offices in Atlanta and Tampa, has described his human-centred approach as the foundation of its ongoing work.