[1] His family was aristocratic and lived in a Georgian-style house; he is a descendant of presidents Zachary Taylor and James Madison.
[2] His father Walter worked for the U.S. State Department and was special envoy to China for several years.
At UVA, Robertson often invited notable guest speakers and organized a famous symposium with 25 of the nation's leading architects, including Robert A. M. Stern and Léon Krier, that resulted in the publication of a book entitled The Charlottesville Tapes.
His notable work includes the New Albany Country Club in New Albany, Ohio outside Columbus, the Visitor Center at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia, the Henry Moore Sculpture Garden at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Master Plan for Celebration, Florida for the Disney Development Company as well as the Golf Clubhouse there, The Institute for the Arts & Humanities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Master Plan for the new community of Val d'Europe, outside Paris, France, the Sony Pictures Imageworks Headquarters Building in Culver City, California, and numerous private residences.
Having designed many AIA (American Institute of Architects) award-winning houses, many of which are in the Hamptons on the East End of Long Island and in the Caribbean, Robertson was named one of "the AD 100," Architectural Digest's list of the top 100 architects and interior designers whose work has been published by Architectural Digest over the years.