Jaquelin Taylor Robertson, informally known as "Jaque," (March 20, 1933 – May 9, 2020) was an Americanarchitect andurban designer, working atCooper Robertson. He was a representative ofNew Urbanism andNew Classical Architecture.
Robertson was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia on a classical family-owned estate.[1] His family was aristocratic and lived in a Georgian-style house; he is a descendant of presidentsZachary Taylor andJames Madison.[2] His father Walter worked for the U.S. State Department and was special envoy to China for several years. After graduating fromYale College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954 and spending a year atOxford University as aRhodes Scholar, Robertson received aMaster of Architecture degree fromYale School of Architecture in 1961.
Working in New York City Planning, he was the founder of the New York City Urban Design Group,[3] the first Director of the Mayor's Office of Midtown Planning and Development, and a City Planning Commissioner.
In 1975, he spent three years inTehran, Iran, directing the planning and design of the country's new capitol center Shahestan Pahlavi[4] in theAbbas Abad district of Tehran.
From 1980 to 1988, Robertson was Dean of theUniversity of Virginia School of Architecture where there is now an Endowed Professorship in his name entitled the "Jaquelin T. Robertson Visiting Professorship in Architecture." AtUVA, Robertson often invited notable guest speakers and organized a famous symposium with 25 of the nation's leading architects, includingRobert A. M. Stern andLéon Krier, that resulted in the publication of a book entitledThe Charlottesville Tapes. During this same period (1980 to 1987), he was partnered withPeter Eisenman in the firm Eisenman/Robertson Architects in New York City.
In 1988, he stepped down from theUniversity of Virginia post and his partnership withPeter Eisenman to join his Yale School of Architecture classmateAlex Cooper in his firm in New York City, established now under a new name:Cooper, Robertson & Partners.
His notable work includes the New Albany Country Club inNew Albany, Ohio outside Columbus, the Visitor Center at theLewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia, theHenry Moore Sculpture Garden at theNelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Master Plan forCelebration, Florida for theDisney Development Company as well as the Golf Clubhouse there, The Institute for the Arts & Humanities at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Master Plan for the new community ofVal d'Europe, outsideParis, France, theSony Pictures Imageworks Headquarters Building inCulver City, California, and numerous private residences.
Having designed many AIA (American Institute of Architects) award-winning houses, many of which are inthe Hamptons on the East End of Long Island and in theCaribbean, Robertson was named one of "the AD 100,"Architectural Digest's list of the top 100 architects and interior designers whose work has been published byArchitectural Digest over the years.
Robertson was both aFellow of the American Institute of Architects[5] and a Fellow of theAmerican Institute of Certified Planners.
Robertson died ofAlzheimer's disease inEast Hampton, New York, in May 2020.[6]
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