Torti Gallas + Partners’ approach to creating great places in our communities is based on the strategic employment of Placemaking design principles to enhance the human experience. We firmly believe great places are those where people want to live, work, shop and play – places that enliven, inspire and entertain their residents, shoppers and guests. To that end, our goal is to create pedestrian-oriented, walkable, amenity-rich neighborhoods that provide the framework for enriching experiences, social engagement, and patron ownership. 

After all, people don’t live in a building; they live in a place.

Throughout our 65-year history the overarching concern of all of our engagements is the creation of a “sense of place”.  We work with our clients to develop a holistic vision for their projects - one which incorporates the appropriate brand position while communicating the story of the place. 

In order to enhance our ability to provide this invaluable market expertise to our clients, we have established Retail + Placemaking as an experiential-focused studio within Torti Gallas + Partners. The Retail + Placemaking Studio joins Torti Gallas’ other studios: The Village, The Urban Block, The Town Center District, Region and Town Planning and Torti Gallas West, each providing services targeted to the various market segments in which we work. 

We are pleased to have Mike Rollison leading this new studio out of our recently established Philadelphia office. Mike, who joined Torti Gallas in 2016, has over 25 years of experience in the planning and design of mixed-use, retail, entertainment, hospitality, residential, waterfront, and transit-oriented developments in the United States and abroad. His collaborative approach to projects and his astute knowledge of place creation specific to mixed-use environments results in unique and marketable design solutions focused on community.

Mike is renowned for creating successful places, while providing high quality client service. He is expert at making informed development decisions, maximizing site potential and project viability while providing imaginative and innovative designs. With a strong background in strategic and master planning, and conceptual and architectural design, Mike is able to produce successful projects that create value for clients and communities alike.

Mike and his team bring together experts in Placemaking Visioning and Placemaking Design to access, identify and design all aspects of the destination. Our integrated and highly collaborative teams focus on retail strategies, brand design, urban design, architectural design, and landscape design to create a holistic “place” aimed at offering unique and memorable solutions for the given market, demographics, and location. All creative team experts play important roles in the collaborative process and inform decision making based upon the client’s underlying development goals and brand positioning – from developing the project name and logo to identifying the appropriate retail tenant mix, to streetscape and amenity planning, to landscape and lighting design, to building design that create unique and memorable experiences.

We are excited to share this news and look forward to the opportunity to share our Retail + Placemaking expertise with you in the United States and abroad!