Entelechy II: architect John Portman's majestic beach home hits the market
Entelechy II, architect John Portman's beach residence in Georgia, USA, goes on the market; roll up, roll up for a home that is as grand as it is playful

There's grand, and then there's architect John Portman's beach home in Sea Island, Georgia – Entelechy II. The property, which was designed by the eminent American architect in 1986, as his personal vacation escape, is majestic and playful, balancing drama and awe in equal measure; and importantly, it is set to put a smile on your face.
Tour Entelechy II, architect John Portman's beach home
The design of Entelechy II is generous and inspiring, unexpected and awash with light. Opening to Atlantic Ocean views, this is a home that takes modernist architecture and gives it a truly unique twist.
When we covered the home as part of a profile on John Portman in the December 2009 issue of Wallpaper*, writer Eva Hagberg described it at the time as: 'a whirlwind of architectural activity, bounded on the bottom by the ground and on the top by a laid-on grid that would make even Rosalind Krauss happy. In between are three rows of six columns, exploded as though a pole has been driven into the centre of each, pushing the sides outwards.'
Hagberg continued: 'Some of the columns are empty, derailed simply with the green – and only green – plants that take over the building, while others are filled with a winding staircase or, in one case, an elevator. They are all central to the design, the exploded column being Portman's way of “understanding the essence of the column”, an experiment and search he had begun in Entelechy I [Portman's previous home], itself a search for the very essence of architecture.'
This was a project crafted for Portman and his family's own use. The architect told us at the time of his design explorations: 'There will never be another you, and there will never be another me.'
Explaining his search for the internal core of humanity, and the house's drive to articulate that architecturally, Portman added: 'The trick is to try to understand the essence of what you are.'
The tour de force that is Entelechy II is on sale via Chase Mizell of Atlanta Fine Homes & Sotheby’s International Realty and Susan Imhoff and Ann Harrell of DeLoach Sotheby’s International Realty.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Prodrive updates its sleek racing simulator with new craft and fresh tech
Race at home in style with the latest version of Prodrive’s racing simulator, now equipped with Bang & Olufsen sound
-
A local architect’s guide to Joshua Tree
Mirtilla Alliata di Montereale shares her favourite things to do to slow down, look closely, and discover Joshua Tree through a more intentional lens
-
Art meets perfume in cross-disciplinary fragrance series Nez 1+1
Talents from film and fragrance come together to create Ansongo, the latest scent resulting from a creative matchmaking project by perfume revue Nez
-
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House – a project built with accessibility at its heart
The dwelling, which you can visit in Illinois, is a classic example of Wright’s Usonian architecture, and was also built for a client with a disability long before accessibility was widely considered
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in California
A minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxury
This coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpiece
Now hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside out
For the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think so
For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summer
A Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
-
A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bones
We step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio