[7] His mother worked at the Howard University school of dentistry,[4] his aunt taught social work there, and Colonel James Hill Robinson (his uncle and a graduate of the United States Military Academy) was an associate dean of architecture there when Robinson was an undergraduate.
[8] Robinson's early years were spent living in an apartment at 2715 Georgia Avenue NW near Howard University (across the street from his grandparents' home).
[6] Robinson often played on the campus, riding a wagon down and sledding on its hills, and learning to swim in its pool.
[6][7] When he entered James Monroe Elementary School, the family moved north to Farragut Street NW.
[6] But after the Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, he attended racially integrated MacFarland Junior High School.
[10] Robinson graduated from Howard University in 1966 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree (with design honors).
[5][12] Robinson began his career working as an urban planner for the D.C. Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) from 1968 to 1972.
[5] Robinson's teaching career began when he taught architecture at the University of the District of Columbia from 1969 to 1970 and again from 1971 to 1974.
Morgan State became the first historically black college or university to be recognized by the American Institute of Planners.
Impressed with his knowledge and force of personality, students formed a committee to investigate his background, then met with faculty to discuss their findings.
The joint student-faculty group then petitioned Howard University President James E. Cheek to hire Robinson as the next dean of the School of Architecture and Planning.
[8] During his tenure as dean, he expanded the curriculum, organized the African American Architect Initiative, and established a program to encourage D.C. schoolchildren to choose a career in urban design and planning.
[9] When Howard Hall was renovated in 1996, he saved bricks and wood from the historica building to sell as fund-raisers for the university capital campaign.
[18] Robinson was a member of the CFA during the contentious decision over the siting of the National World War II Memorial in the 1990s.
"[21] Robinson was similarly dismissive of a 2002 plan by the National Park Service to build a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) underground visitors center and 400-foot (120 m) long tunnel beneath the grounds of the Washington Monument.
Moshe Safdie's design for a seven-story structure shaped like a curving capital letter V, enclosing a vast atrium covered by wing-like white canopies, was the architect's first American building.
"[23] In December 1995, Robinson was named chairman of a 14-member ad hoc panel established by President Bill Clinton to propose a redesign of the closed segment of Pennsylvania Avenue NW between the White House and Lafayette Square.
[24] The panel proposed a "town square" idea that would remove the pavement and plant a field of grass, as well as add retail, food service, and educational kiosks to make the area a more attractive gathering place.
[27][28] The panel's design plan extended these decorative motifs several blocks in every direction from the White House.
He is a director of the White House Historical Association, a member of the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and previously served on the National Research Council's Committee of High Performance Sustainable Federal Buildings.
[11] In 2003, Robinson received the Centennial Medal of the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (the organization's highest honor).
He is a recipient of the District of Columbia Council of Engineering and Architecture Societies Architect of the Year award and the Howard University College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Science Distinguished Alumni Award for International Leadership.
[11][30] He also received the Silver Medal from the D.C. chapter of the Tau Sigma Delta Architectural Honor Society.