Jaquelin “Jaque" Taylor Robertson, FAIA, a founding partner of architecture firm Cooper Robertson and the urban designer behind the master plan for Celebration, Florida, has passed away at age 87.

A message from Cooper Robertson marking the architect's passing reads as follows:

Over the course of his long, fruitful and rich life, Jaque’s accomplishments were innumerable, extraordinary and widely varied. He had a staggering breadth of life experiences and a seemingly bottomless well of talents; always setting the bar high, holding to the highest of standards and accepting nothing short of excellence, first in himself, and in his partners and colleagues as well.

The Jaque we remember is that of a tall, dashingly handsome figure, in custom tailored suits from London, matching bow tie and pocket-square, with a winning smile and a twinkle in his electric blue eyes; a mirror to a soul that was fundamentally warm, loving and ever-curious about people and the world. Jaque was a lover of opera, classical music, books, sports and animals – and obsessed with urbanism, architecture and design.

Jaque mentored, and instilled certain values in, dozens of young architects over his career – many of whom are still with Cooper, Robertson, and many others who are practicing elsewhere across the globe. That is, perhaps, his greatest gift to the profession and the culture; perhaps his greatest legacy. We will miss him. He will be roundly missed, and never forgotten.”

Robertson is widely known for the role he played in reinvigorating the lexicon of contemporary architecture with a range of historical, vernacular forms. 

His designs for Celebration, Florida, a New Urbanist planned community created in the 1990s by the Walt Disney Company in collaboration with a who's-who of that era's architects, live on as one of Robertson's most impactful and enduring works. His over 30 years of practice with the Cooper Robertson firm offers more contemporary formal approaches to design, however. 

In addition to many professional accolades, Robertson served as Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia from 1980 to 1988 and was the director of the Urban Design Group under New York City Mayor Lindsay in the late 1960s. He also served as the first Director of the Mayor’s Office of Midtown Planning and Development and later chosen to be the New York City Planning Commissioner.

Robertson attended Oxford University for his undergraduate studies and earned a Masters degree in Architecture from Yale University. 

The Cooper Robertson firm has compiled a thorough obituary highlighting Robertson's many achievements on the company website that can be found here.