It is with deep sadness that Gresham Smith announces the passing of Batey M. Gresham Jr., AIA—one of the firm’s founders. He was 88 years old.
“Our hearts are heavy today,” said Gresham Smith CEO Rodney Chester. “Our firm, our profession and our communities have lost a leader who inspired and impacted so many. His long-term influence is nearly impossible to measure, not just because he was one of our founders, but because his dedication, values and genuine love for both employees and clients truly defined our culture and what we stand for as a firm. We all owe Batey and his wife, Ann, a debt of gratitude for a lifetime of service.”
Gresham received his Bachelor of Architecture from Auburn University in 1957. He served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as first lieutenant from 1957-1959, and as a captain from 1961-1962.
Batey Gresham, along with Fleming (“Flem”) W. Smith Jr., FAIA, founded Gresham and Smith Architects (now Gresham Smith) in 1967. One of the firm’s first clients was the newly formed Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).
“While most architects were solo practitioners in the mid-1960s, we chose an alternate path,” recalls co-founder Flem Smith. “We were soon bringing people into our organization who had skillsets and talents that we didn’t have so we could serve a wider range of clients. Batey excelled in this search.”
Former Gresham Smith CEO James Bearden, who joined the firm in 1976 as one of its first 100 employees, recalls joining in the midst of a recession. “I soon learned that Batey had no intention of letting a slow economy hold him back,” said Bearden. “He forged relationships on behalf of the firm that continue to benefit us to this day. His legacy lies not only in his love of architecture and the built environment, but also in the investment he made in his employees. His leadership, mentorship and friendship have been a blessing to me and my family, and he will be greatly missed.”
Former Gresham Smith CEO and current board chairman Al Pramuk recalls visiting Batey in his office for the first time as a young professional. “What impressed me the most as I left our conversation was how kind and caring he was,” said Pramuk. “This is something that is still present in Gresham Smith’s culture. Batey will be missed by many, but no doubt it is how he treated others—making them feel like they had value—that will continue on through the many lives he touched.”
Gresham was an active member of the Nashville and engineering professional communities. A registered architect in Alabama and Tennessee, he served in roles with several professional organizations, including the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Tennessee Society of Architects, the Construction Specifications Institute, the Urban Land Institute, the National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives, the National Association of Industrial Office Parks, the Young Presidents Organization and the Chief Executives Organization.
In 1999, demonstrating his dedication to his alma mater and the architecture profession at large, Gresham, along with his wife, Ann, also an Auburn University graduate, established the Ann and Batey Gresham Endowed Professorship. At the time, it was the first endowed professorship in the university’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture’s 90-year history. He was an active member of the Auburn Alumni Association and, in 2005, was recognized by the association with the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was established to recognize outstanding professional achievement, personal integrity and service to the university.
He also volunteered on the Board of Directors of the Alcohol & Drug Council of Middle Tennessee, writing in a 1999 commentary for the Nashville Business Journal, that volunteering on the board was “one way I can invest in the future of Nashville while participating in the solution to a problem that is hurting us today.”
Gresham’s commitment to employees formed the foundation of the firm’s culture that endures to this day. “Human beings comprise the foundation of the future of any enterprise,” Gresham once wrote.
There will be a private funeral service for Batey Gresham this week. The service will be followed by a reception for family and friends on Wednesday, August 10, from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Fig and Ivy, located at 2290 Moores Mill Road in Auburn, AL.
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
HQ renovations aim for modern look
Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects’ renovations to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s New York City headquarters will feature a reworked reception lobby with back-painted glass, silk-screened logos, and a video wall.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community center under way in NYC seeks LEED Platinum
A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community college plans new campus building
Construction is moving along on Hudson County Community College’s North Hudson Campus Center in Union City, N.J. The seven-story, 92,000-sf building will be the first higher education facility in the city.
| Oct 13, 2010
County building aims for the sun, shade
The 187,032-sf East County Hall of Justice in Dublin, Calif., will be oriented to take advantage of daylighting, with exterior sunshades preventing unwanted heat gain and glare. The building is targeting LEED Silver. Strong horizontal massing helps both buildings better match their low-rise and residential neighbors.
| Oct 12, 2010
Holton Career and Resource Center, Durham, N.C.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. Early in the current decade, violence within the community of Northeast Central Durham, N.C., escalated to the point where school safety officers at Holton Junior High School feared for their own safety. The school eventually closed and the property sat vacant for five years.
| Oct 12, 2010
Guardian Building, Detroit, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. The relocation and consolidation of hundreds of employees from seven departments of Wayne County, Mich., into the historic Guardian Building in downtown Detroit is a refreshing tale of smart government planning and clever financial management that will benefit taxpayers in the economically distressed region for years to come.
| Oct 12, 2010
Owen Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Officials at Michigan State University’s East Lansing Campus were concerned that Owen Hall, a mid-20th-century residence facility, was no longer attracting much interest from its target audience, graduate and international students.
| Oct 12, 2010
Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Gartner Auditorium was originally designed by Marcel Breuer and completed, in 1971, as part of his Education Wing at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Despite that lofty provenance, the Gartner was never a perfect music venue.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cell and Genome Sciences Building, Farmington, Conn.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Administrators at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington didn’t think much of the 1970s building they planned to turn into the school’s Cell and Genome Sciences Building. It’s not that the former toxicology research facility was in such terrible shape, but the 117,800-sf structure had almost no windows and its interior was dark and chopped up.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.
