RTKL was a global architecture, planning and design firm. The firm was founded in 1946 by Archibald Rogers and Francis 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. "RTKL" comes from the initials of the initial members: Rogers Taliaferro Kostritsky Lamb.
History
The firm was founded by Archibald Rogers in his grandmother’s basement in Annapolis. Francis Taliaferro joined shortly afterwards. In 1949, the pair hired Charles Lamb, whose design for the Anne Arundel CountyGirl Scouts Teepee Lodge gained the firm national attention by winning an award from the American Institute of Architects. 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. 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 US cities. The firm continued to expand in the next decades, opening offices across the company and overseas. RTKL also grew through acquisitions. In 2000, RTKL acquired Dallas-based FDS International, a health practice ranked among the top ten in the country. Later in 2000, 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. 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. In August 2010 the firm purchased Beijing-based AHS International, a practice that specialized in healthcare and medical-facility architecture. In 2011, Building Design ranked RTKL’s retail sector first in the world, its planning services third and its urban design services fifth.
