Heery, George
HEERY, Sr., FAIA, George T.
June 18, 1927 – January 21, 2021
Influential architect, George Thomas Heery, age 93, of Atlanta, died peacefully on Thursday, January 21, at home with family and the love of his life, Maude Elizabeth Wood ("Betty") Heery, his wife for 70 years. He was dearly loved and tremendously respected by family, friends and professional colleagues, many of whom were, in fact, his very close friends or family. A deeply loving husband, George was a fine brother to two sisters, a wonderful father, a grandfather of seven, an uncle and great uncle to many nieces and nephews. He served in the United States Navy in World War II, enlisting at age 17. He and Betty were married on June 19, 1950, at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia.
George loved travel, while consistently engaged with civic activities in Atlanta, from his thirties, helping bring major leagues sports to Atlanta to forming civic groups to serving on the board of Spelman College. He and Betty and their two younger sons, Neal and George, Jr., enjoyed residing in London, England. Throughout their marriage, George and Betty loved vacationing in Highlands, North Carolina.
George graduated from Georgia Tech in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Architecture. Later, he completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. George and his father, architect C. Wilmer Heery, Jr., cofounded Heery & Heery, Architects, in 1952, initially, with offices in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia. As CEO, George led the firm, later known as Heery International, Inc., to become a 600-person, multi-disciplinary professional corporation with offices worldwide.
In 1986, George and his colleagues sold Heery International to British ownership and he continued as CEO to 1989. He co-founded Brookwood Group, Inc, with his eldest son, San Francisco based developer, Shepherd ("Shep") Heery and daughter, New York City based architect, Laura Heery.
He leaves a legacy of great innovation and leadership. In Atlanta, George and his colleagues were the architects for The Coca-Cola Company Atlanta headquarters expansions and Central Reception Building, for the Georgia Power Headquarters, Woodruff Administration Building at Emory University, 999 Peachtree high-rise office building, for Lockheed, Delta Airlines, Turner Broadcasting and many corporate and institutional clients. George and his partners were the developers and designers for The Wakefield, in Buckhead, Atlanta's first luxury co-op apartment building. He led projects for affordable housing, university housing and facilities for Morehouse University, Spelman College, Georgia State, Georgia Tech.
George was an early design pioneer of major league stadiums, leading projects in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Boston, Buffalo and collegiate sports arenas in Syracuse, Kentucky and other locations. George and his colleagues designed and managed large infrastructure, healthcare and school projects, from Greenville, South Carolina to Alaska, and internationally from London to Portugal, from Amman, Jordan to Japan. From the 1970's, George maintained offices in New York City, after his firm was selected by Mayor Lindsay and the New York Parks Department for thirteen innovative urban projects. Later, he led design for Rockefeller Center streetscapes. George spearheaded innovations in energy efficient design to the transformative redesign of the Peachtree corridor from urban highway to boulevard.
George was among a small group of American design and construction professionals that, in the 1960s and early 1970s, created the new professions of construction management and construction program management. George and his colleagues at Heery International and at Brookwood Group created advanced project management procedures. In 1974 George authored Time, Cost and Architecture, said by its publisher, McGraw-Hill, to have been
"the first definitive work on construction management."
In 1981 he developed Strategic Facilities Planning (SFP), a business and real estate planning process. George considered the Bridging method to be his most important contribution to the professional practice of design and construction industry. In 2010, he authored a book on the subject, later cofounding the Bridging Institute of America. George was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Fellow and cofounding member of both the Construction Management Association of America and the Bridging Institute of America.
George is survived by his beloved wife, Betty; their son, Shepherd (Liz) Heery; their daughter, Laura Heery; their son Neal (Rebecca) Heery; their son George (Constance) Heery, Jr.; and their grandchildren: Eliza Heery, Charles (Kelley) Heery, Anna Heery, Liam Heery, Georgia Heery, Emma Neal Heery, and Aidan Heery, as well as nieces and nephews.
George's parents were Sara & Wilmer Heery of Athens, Georgia, and by sisters were Caroline Heery Berry of Manlius, New York, and Harriett Heery Kasak of New York City.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the George & Wilmer Heery Professorship Fund in the School of Architecture at Georgia Tech. Contributions may be to the Georgia Tech Foundation, Inc., designating the "Heery Professorship", to 760 Spring St., Suite 400, Atlanta, GA, 30308.
