Foreman Seeley Fountain Architecture – how it all got started

The first week in July of 1985, Bob Foreman set up shop and moved furniture into newly rented office space in Stone Mountain.  The new company officially opened the Monday morning after the Fourth of July, with a new phone system, a new Sears electric typewriter, and a “sign on the door” that read Foreman Associates Architects.  Thirty years later, we are celebrating that day in 1985 when it all began.  

However, it really didn’t just suddenly start on that day in 1985.  It really began eight years earlier when Bob joined a Norcross architectural firm where he became a “partner” when the firm renamed itself Cunningham Bailey & Foreman Architects.  After some rough years during a difficult economy in the early 80’s, Bob was not satisfied working for a firm where his name was on the door but he had little actual input into how the firm operated.  The decision to open a new company came after much prayer and thoughtful consideration. 

The plan at first was to specialize in churches and schools.  We stuck with that plan and soon added bank projects to the mix.  Jeff Seeley joined the firm in 1987 right after graduation from Kent State.  Jerry Fountain, with a degree from Southern Tech, joined in 1989.  In 1992, we changed the name of the firm to Foreman Seeley Fountain Architects.  Later, we decided the company name should reflect what we did, not what we were, and we became Foreman Seeley Fountain Architecture.  Over the years, we have added interior and tenant space design services, and recreational and municipal facilities.  We have completed projects in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Tennessee. We have come a long way since opening in that little two story office building in Stone Mountain.