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As historians on a multidisciplinary team preparing a Historic and Archeological Resource Protection Plan (HARP) for the National Naval Medical Center, Robinson & Associates surveyed and evaluated 29 buildings on the Medical Center campus, the majority of which were designed in 1941 by master architect Paul Philippe Cret. Recognized as the first national center devoted to the study and administration of naval medicine, the complex reflects the skill and technique of Cret's often understated involvement in institutional planning and design. Robinson & Associates also produced an historic context report to further document the history, design, development, and growth of this major institution and to make preliminary eligibility determinations for listing on the National Register of Historic Places on each of the 29 buildings. These evaluations were based, in part, on their association with the medical center and its construction during the United States' early involvement in World War II and as illustrations of the particular style and work of architect Paul Philippe Cret.
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Robinson & Associates participated in a project team charged with accommodating renovated space needs in Roosevelt Hall, a National Historic Landmark designed by McKim, Mead and White in 1907. The project included creating a report that (a) identified contributing elements and features of the building's interior; (b) located original drawings to produce a construction history of the building focusing on major alterations to the spaces; and (c) investigated the history and potential significance of the building's library. Robinson & Associates also collaborated with project architects to achieve successful approaches to new construction within the historic context, which included evaluating substantial fire and life safety decisions affecting the building’s Guastavino tile ceiling and new HVAC systems, participating in project consultation with the D.C. State Historic Preservation Office and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation under the Section 106 review process, and making presentations before the Commission of Fine Arts. Following the completion of a successful Memorandum of Agreement, Robinson & Associates completed several mitigation measures, including augmented HABS documentation of Roosevelt Hall.
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Robinson & Associates was retained as architectural historians to complete an intensive-level survey and historic context of the United States Naval Observatory, resulting in a National Register Determination of Eligibility. The Naval Observatory is the oldest scientific institution in the Navy and is noted for its work in the study of positional astronomy and timekeeping. The project involved extensive textual, photographic, and on-site research and documentation of the site’s historic buildings, which were designed by prominent New York architect Richard Morris Hunt. The Naval Observatory was founded in 1830 as the “Depot of Charts and Instruments” with the mission of caring for the chronometers, charts, and other navigational equipment of the Navy Department. Originally located in Foggy Bottom, the facility was relocated to its current site on Massachusetts Avenue in 1893. The boundary lines of the 73-acre campus form a perfect circle with a 1,000-foot radius (known as Observatory Circle), intended to protect the integrity of the astronomical instruments from unwanted vibrations.
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