So much was his contribution that for two long decades he towered over his peers in his chosen profession. As an architect, he always sought to create new and experimental concepts.He shook himself free of the restrictive norms of the established order and produced designs that always stood distinct from others. His designs spanned the entire spectrum of architecture and his style was considered avant-grade. He designed Educational, Cultural, Military, Sporting, Leisure and Health facilities all over Ghana.
His educational projects include the U.S.T. Schools of Pharmacy, Engineering and Classroom block. Also to his credit are the Faculty of Arts of the University of Cape Coast, Institute of Statistical,Social Economic Research and the Department of Nursing both of the University of Ghana and Lincoln Community School at Dzorwulu in Accra.
"Winky" designed health facilities among which are the Surgical, Maternity, Paediatric, Tuberculosis and Isolation Units of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital as well as the Ashanti Gold Fields Hospital at Obuasi.
The Police Headquarters, Police College and the Tamale Air Force Barracks belong to the long list of "Winky’s" designs. So do the Kumasi Sports Stadium in Ghana, East Central State Stadium Complex as well as the Imo State Stadium Complex both in Nigeria.
The British Council building in Accra, the Secondi, Koforidua and Tamale libraries are also his designs. His interest extended to Hotels where he designed the extension to the Avenida Hotel. Later he was to do project designs for the Ghana Airways and the British Caledonian Hotels, which are yet to be built.
His factory designs include the Unions Carbide factory at Tema, the Ceramics factory at saltpond and the Accra Brewery.
The many office building he designed are the Ministry of Foreign affairs building, the Diamond House and the Consortium House on the High Street in Accra.
The Scott house where he lived, the Taylor Woodrow house and the Taysec Town House are among the many residential houses that bear the Winky Scott mark.
This obviously hardworking and highly productive professional had time for leisure. Unlike most men of his cast, he was very sociable. He played Polo in his spare time and for many years was the president of the Accra Polo Club. Kenneth Mackenzie Scott was born in 1918 in Sydney, Australia. He was the third of five of his Australian mother and Scottish father. At the age of 11 his family moved to settle in the United Kingdom where he later took up a career in architecture.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939,he enlisted in the British Army. He was seconded to the seven battalion Gold Coast Regiment of Royal West Africa Frontier Force as a second Lieutenant. By the end of the war he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel with full responsibility for his battalion. He was honored with the Military Cross.
After the war he returned to England to complete his studies in architecture. On completing he joined the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and become a fellow in 1963.
In 1948,he joined the East Essex County Council. The following year he left Great Britain for the Gold Coast, more of a reunion with his “pattern in war” than a search for greener pastures.
In the Gold Coast "Winky" did not dally with whatever benefit membership of the colonial bureaucracy offered. For just after one tour with the Gold Coast Public Works, he joined the private practice of James Cubitt Scott as free partner. His desire to live free of any restriction authority did not end with his parting with the colonial administration. After a brief partnership with James Cubit Scott and Associates with practices in the U.K, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Fiji.
He made many Ghanaian friends and married a former high court judge, Mrs Theresa Stiggner Scott who later served as Ghana’s Ambassador to France. He was a founding member of the Ghana Institute of Architects and was it’s Vice President in 1960-70, and Secretary to the Architects Council during the period. He died in 1982 at the age of 63.In a tribute he was described as “the last of the Gold Coasters”. Mrs. Frances Ademola also paid a glowing tribute to his memory when she said of him; “He was a Gold Coaster in one time only, for he did not dwell with crippling nostalgia for the good old days. He read voraciously, ‘talked modern’ and identified himself with the hopes triumphs and disappointment of the Ghanaian. Through three republics, five coup d’etats and one revolution, he shared our expectations disillusions and our sometimes enforced silence.
Friends will remember him for his enormous capacity for affection and wit. But most concretely he will be remember for the numerous architectural monuments all over Ghana, which bear testimony to his genius.
Adapted from Tribute by KEN AMOAH in 'Journal of the Ghana Institute of Architects Vol. 1 No.1' JANUARY - JUNE , 1993.
Source: www.arcghana.org
He was also responsible for the design (including interior decoration) and supervision of the building of the Australian High Commissioner's official residence in Switchback Road. When completed in early 1975 this residence was regarded by the Australians as the finest of their residences world-wide
ReplyDeleteI know his daughter Tamsin in Brisbane, Australia, a landscape architect with a social conscience, a pleasure to cconverse with - always interesting.
ReplyDeleteI worked for Winky in Ghana 1968-1971 in Tamale where we constructed the Tamale General Hospital. I was the RA on site and A Lang from Kumasi was the contractor. We also supervised the construction of the new barracks for the Airborne Division just north of Tamale. The design of the General Hospital was based upon the Korle-Bu layouts with some updating by me on site to the op-theatres and OPD. We handed the buildings over in 1971 on time and within budget. Winky used to visit regularly together with Maurice Yardley and Jim Wilcox from Accra office. My first major site management post and happy days.
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