Charles Collas Robin was born in Guernsey, Channel Isles on 8 January 1876. By the early 1890s he had moved to London where he was articled to Alfred Frampton from 1890 to 1894. He also attended Lambeth School of Art, City of London College and Birkbeck Institute. He commenced independent practice in London in 1899 and in 1903 formed a partnership with Sidney Vincent North (1874-1951) as North & Robin. The practice specialised in the design of shops and department stores. Among their clients were F W Woolworth & Co. Ltd. and C. & A.
Robin was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British architects (FRIBA) in 1907. Robin served in the Army during World War One and was killed in action in 1916.
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001