Black and white photo of Bill Pulgram smiling in the Hinman Research Building.

Bill Pulgram

Remembering an Architecture and Community Leader

An alumnus of the School of Architecture from 1949, Bill Pulgram FAIA, passed peacefully in Atlanta on April 16, 2020, with his four children by his side. He was 99 years old, with vitality and acuity that defied his age. His beloved wife, Lucia, had died earlier this year on February 5. They had been married for 68 years.

Obituary provided by the family of Bill Pulgram

Born January 1, 1921, in Vienna, Austria, to Sigmund Pulgram and Giselle Bauer Pulgram, Bill fled in 1939 to escape the Nazi occupation. With the help of Quakers, he traveled to England, and after a year and a half received papers to come to the United States to join his brother, Ernst Pulgram. His parents, younger sister, Lili, and most of his extended family were murdered in the Holocaust. 

In the US, Bill enlisted in the Army and served three years. Following his military service, Bill attended Georgia Tech, graduating in Architecture in 1949. He continued studies in Paris at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts, winning first prize in design. He married Atlantan Lucia Walker Fairlie in 1952. 

In 1963 he founded the interior design firm, Associated Space Design, and over 25 years led it to national prominence. ASD|SKY is one of Altanta’s most successful firms today. He believed that interior design was properly a continuation of the architectural process, responding to the needs of the people who work, as well as to their increasingly automated workplaces. This pioneering concept was expressed in the award-winning book he jointly authored (with Richard Stonis of ASD), Designing the Automated Office. Acclaimed ASD projects included headquarters for Southern Bell, Coca-Cola, Black & Decker and the Old Post Office Pavilion multi-use renovation in Washington, DC, the first of its kind in the country. His revolutionary design for the 1972 McDonalds' headquarters near Chicago included open space planning modules and a sound proof "think tank" for incubating new ideas. 

Bill was the first chairman of the American Institute of Architecture's ground-breaking Interiors Committee in 1975. He was a fellow in the AIA and was selected to the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 1987. He consulted for the U.S. State Department around the world. A bit of trivia: he stumped the celebrities as the subject of "To Tell the Truth" - a TV game show. And he designed a half dozen private homes, defined by open plans and woodland vistas, including his family home of 50 years in Northwest Atlanta. 

Despite his intense professional focus, Bill made time for his community. He served as President of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta. He was a lover of classical music, member and supporter of the Atlanta Music Club, Atlanta Symphony Associates, the Pro-Mozart Society, and a fixture at Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concerts for 50 years. 

Once retired, Bill never slowed down. He became active in Architects Without Borders and offered expertise to organizations including The Mountain and Lenbrook, where he lived for 9 years. Intensely curious about what humankind has created in the world, he cherished learning and adventure, and for more than 20 years led groups of friends on excursions around the globe.

He will be remembered for his personal and authentic connections with those he encountered, honoring their dignity and worth, and finding great satisfaction in helping them realize their dreams. Bill loved sitting on the beach in the sun, jumping through waves, baking linzer torte, cutting a rug and driving his Mini Cooper convertible. More than anything, Bill loved his family. He adored his wife Lucia and treasured his four children, their partners, and his grandchildren. Bill was preceded in death by his wife Lucia Walker Fairlie Pulgram and his brother Ernst Pulgram. 

He is survived by his children: Lucia Deirdre Pulgram-Arthen, husband Andras Corban-Arthen; Laurence Fairlie Pulgram, wife Kathleen Ann Murray; Anthony Ernst Pulgram, partner Sunita Mohabir; and Christopher Leopold Pulgram; grandchildren: Donovan Andru Arthen; Lucia Isobel Arthen-Long, Daniel Laurence Murray Pulgram and Mara Lilli Murray Pulgram; and sisters-in-law: Frances McSparran and Mary Ann Fairlie. 

A celebration of life will be held for all friends once the current health crisis permits. Memorial donations may be made to William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, The Mountain Learning and Conference Center Endowment Fund (Highlands, North Carolina) or the Peachtree String Quartet. Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution from Apr. 19 to Apr. 20, 2020

"In 2015, Bill attended the School of Architecture Awards Day for the first time. Years ago, Bill had created a scholarship for international study but he had never come to campus to award the scholarship," said Scott Marble, Professor and W. H. Harrison Chair of the Georgia Tech School of Architecture. "We invited Bill to the stage to award his scholarship, which he gladly did, and as he returned to his seat, I realized that most of the audience did not know Bill and had graduated in 1949, and that he was our oldest living alumni. And much to my surprise, the entire audience—students, faculty and alumni—jumped to their feet and gave Bill a standing ovation. It was a great moment and Bill was very touched. We missed him at the Awards Day this past spring."

Architecture Alumni Remember Bill Pulgram

Pulgram was a pioneer in interior architecture and the integration into the practice of a wholistic architecture. — John Busby, AR ‘56

Bill Pulgram was a ‘professional’s professional’. He saw that as a profession, architects should be concerned not only with the design of their  buildings but with the design of the total environment including interiors and landscape. — Jerry Cooper, AR ’52

Bill was never seen traveling without his leather Hartmann briefcase! In today’s world you could fit overnight belongings plus a large laptop in it. The large briefcase housed a well-used full carousal of slides at the ready. He was always prepared to make a slide presentation or pitch for whoever he had a chance to meet with. —Thom Williams, President & CEO of ASD|SKY 

As early as the 1970s, he was hiring professional women when other firms in Atlanta were not. — Constance Ogram, ASD colleague and friend.

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