RTKL Associates

{{Short description|Former architecture, planning and design firm}}

{{more citations needed|date=December 2011}}

Image:RTKLLALive.jpg in Los Angeles]]

RTKL was a global architecture, planning and design firm. The firm was founded in 1946 by Archibald C. Rogers and Francis T. Taliaferro in Rogers’ grandmother’s basement in Annapolis and grew to be one of the largest architectural firms in the world prior to its acquisition by Arcadis NV in 2007. In October 2015, RTKL was formally merged with another Arcadis subsidiary, Seattle-based Callison, to form CallisonRTKL headquartered in Baltimore.{{cite news|last=Bhatt|first=Sanjay|title=Callison merges into another architecture firm, HQ shifts to Baltimore|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/callison-merges-into-another-architecture-firm-hq-shifts-to-baltimore/|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=20 October 2015|accessdate=8 April 2016}}

The firm's name, RTKL, originated from the initials of its initial members, Rogers, Taliaferro, Kostritsky, and Lamb.

History

=20th century=

The firm was founded by Archibald C. Rogers in his grandmother’s basement in Annapolis, Maryland.{{Cite web|title = Archibald Coleman Rogers, 84, founded RTKL architectural firm|url = https://www.baltimoresun.com/2001/12/07/archibald-coleman-rogers-84-founded-rtkl-architectural-firm/|access-date = 2015-09-13|date = 2001-12-07|website = The Baltimore Sun|last = Kelly|first = Jacques}} Francis T. Taliaferro joined shortly afterwards.{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Atkinson|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2004/08/29/urban-visions-are-rtkls-stock-in-trade/|title=Urban visions are RTKL's stock in trade|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=29 August 2004|access-date=13 September 2015}} In 1949, the pair hired Charles E. Lamb, whose design for the Anne Arundel County Girl Scouts Teepee Lodge gained the firm national attention by winning an award from the American Institute of Architects.{{cite news|last=Gunts|first=Edward|title=RTKL has made mark on region's landscape|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2007/07/07/rtkl-has-made-mark-on-regions-landscape/|date=7 July 2007|access-date=13 September 2015}}

Rogers and Taliaferro's reputation grew when, in 1954, internationally renowned architect Pietro Belluschi selected the firm as his associate architect for the design of the Church of the Redeemer in Baltimore.{{cite book|last=Clausen|first=Merideth L.|title =Pietro Belluschi: Modern American Architect|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|date=1994|isbn=0-262-03220-1}} The project received an AIA Award of Merit and, in 1986, a special 25-Year Award from the AIA's Baltimore Chapter. In 1956, Lamb was made a partner in the firm, which changed its name to Rogers, Taliaferro and Lamb.

The addition of urban design specialist George Kostritsky in 1961 completed the foursome, and the “Rogers, Taliaferro, Kostritsky and Lamb” name was condensed to “RTKL”. In that same year RTKL was commissioned to design the public spaces for the Charles Center, which contributed to Baltimore’s urban renewal movement. Largely because of the success of this involvement, the firm was commissioned to develop downtown plans for Cincinnati, Ohio, Hartford, Connecticut, and Charlotte, North Carolina, among other U.S. cities. The firm continued to expand in the next decades, opening offices across the company and overseas. RTKL also grew through acquisitions.

=21st century=

In 2000, RTKL acquired Dallas-based FDS International, a health practice ranked among the top ten in the country.{{Cite web|title = RTKL buys FDS, forms health facilities group|url = http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2000/01/17/newscolumn2.html?page=2|website = Dallas Business Journal|accessdate = 2015-09-13|date = 2000-01-16}} Later RTKL bought the Miami-based Howard Snoweiss Design Group, a design company, with an eye towards expanding its business in Latin America and the Caribbean.{{cite news|first=Gus G.|last=Sentementes|title=RTKL Associates buys Miami design company|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=6 October 2000|access-date=14 September 2015|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2000/10/06/rtkl-associates-buys-miami-design-company/}}

In 2007, RTKL became a wholly owned subsidiary of Arcadis NV, an international company that delivers consulting, design, engineering, urban planning, architectural and project management services for infrastructure, environment and buildings.{{Cite web|title = Design firm sold to Dutch company|url = https://www.baltimoresun.com/2007/07/07/design-firm-sold-to-dutch-company/|access-date = 2015-09-13|date = 2007-07-07|website = The Baltimore Sun|last = Connolly|first = Allison|last2 = Arney|first2 = June}}

In August 2010, the firm purchased Beijing-based AHS International, a practice that specialized in healthcare and medical-facility architecture.{{cite web|last=Keegan|first=Edward|title=RTKL Acquires Beijing-Based AHS International|work=Architect|date=31 August 2010|access-date=14 September 2015|url=http://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/rtkl-acquires-beijing-based-ahs-international_o}}

In 2011, Building Design ranked RTKL’s retail sector first in the world, its planning services third, and its urban design services fifth.

Projects

Image:TokyoRehabilitation RTKL.jpg, Japan]]

File:Royal Pavilion Aldershot 2016.jpg in Aldershot]]

References

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