Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/755184
DECEMBER 2016 | 9 PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARCHITECTS TILLMANN RUTH ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY LISA LOGAN/COURTESY ARCHITECTS TILLMANN RUTH ROBINSON architects Tillmann Ruth Robinson Integrity remains at the heart of architects Tillmann Ruth Robinson by NATALIE BRUCKNER-MENCHELLI get called upon for advice and I like to think that's a result of integrity and not let- ting people down," says Tillmann. The firm today still enjoys working with clients that have been collaborating with them for over 50 years. You just need to look inside the company to see how these core values have not only helped the firm attract and retain clients, but also attract and retain a team of highly skilled staff. "We have 32 people in our office and a quarter of them have been with the firm for 15-plus years," explains Tillmann. For architects Tillmann Ruth Robinson it's about listening, and in turn respond- ing. For example, when the company had outgrown its office space in the three-sto- rey Victorian building on Wolfe Street in London, Ontario, the management team reached out to their employees to figure out how best to meet their needs. Coincidentally, the building that would finally meet those needs was a 1950s Victorian structure on Queens Avenue that had been designed by Peter Tillmann almost 60 years earlier. It was the first curtain wall building in the city. "We decided to take the entire seventh floor and reconfigure it to make it an open space, with four meeting rooms instead of one, which is something our employees wanted, a large lounge space with an area to watch TV and play ping pong, because we have some amazing ping pong players here! It has magnificent views over the river and Victoria Park," says Tillmann. In fact the office now perfectly reflects its sister office in Toronto, which houses 10 employees and was established by Robinson, who is responsible for the leader- ship and guidance of the firms design teams. Robinson, like Tillmann and Ruth, has a deep sense of purpose to contribute to something larger than the firm. Robinson is also an active member of EDAC (Evidence-based Design Accreditation and Certification). Having worked in Chicago, Anchorage and as far north as the Arctic Circle, Robinson developed his belief in the power of the client and the community to co-create affirmative envi- ronments that make emotional connections. This philosophy is ref lected in the projects that architects Tillmann Ruth Robinson have worked, and are now working on. Whether that's the Health and Wellness Building at Sault College, the Modular Animal Care Facility for the Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada in Sudbury or the BMO Education and Conference Centre at Toronto Western Hospital. Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care. Modular Animal Care Facility. Health and Wellness Building at Sault College.