George Wittet (1878-1926) was a Scottish architect who worked mostly in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, India.

Biography

George Wittet was born in

Blair Atholl Blair Atholl (from the Scottish Gaelic: ''Blàr Athall'', originally ''Blàr Ath Fhodla'') is a village in Perthshire, Scotland, built about the confluence of the Rivers Tilt and Garry in one of the few areas of flat land in the midst of the Gr ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1878. He studied architecture with a Mr. Heiton of

Perth, Scotland Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...

, and worked in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

before moving to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Wittet arrived in India in 1904 and became an assistant to

John Begg John Begg, commonly known as Jack Begg, (20 September 1866 – 23 February 1937) was a Scottish architect, who practised in London, South Africa and India, before returning to Scotland to teach at Edinburgh College of Art from 1922 to 1933. Li ...

, then Consulting Architect to Mumbai. The two men were responsible for the evolution and subsequent popularity of the

Indo-Saracenic Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindoo style) was a revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government ...

Style of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. On 12 May 1917, Wittet, by then Consulting Architect to the Government of Mumbai, was unanimously elected as the first President of The

Indian Institute of Architects The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) is the national body of Architects in India with more than 1,24,000 members. It was established in 1917 with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is associated with the International Union of Architects ( ...

. Wittet designed some of Mumbai's best known landmarks: the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Saghralaya, the

Gateway of India The Gateway of India is an arch-monument built in the early 20th century in the city of Mumbai (Bombay), India. It was erected to commemorate the landing of King-Emperor George V, the first British monarch to visit India, in December 1911 at ...

, the Institute of Science, the

Small Causes Court In Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cities, the Small Causes Court is responsible for adjudicating matters related to civil cases. The court is responsible for cases relating to tax, (family matters are not dealt by small causes court), property ...

Dhobitalao Dhobitalao (धोबीतलाव, "Washerman's Lake") is a neighborhood in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in India. Located in the South Mumbai area at an elevation of 11 m (31 ft), it used to be a location where linen was was ...

, the Wadia Maternity Hospital,

Bombay House Bombay House is a historic privately owned building in the city of Mumbai, India that serves as the head office of the Tata Group. Situated near Hutatma Chowk, it was completed in 1924 and has been the Tata Group's headquarters ever since. The ...

, the King Edward Memorial Hospital, the Grand Hotel and other buildings at the

Ballard Estate The Ballard Estate business district is situated in the financial district of Fort. Located between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Fort in South Mumbai, it hosts the offices of shipping companies and the headquarters of the Mumbai Port ...

, by the

Mumbai Docks Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, ...

. In

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, he designed the

Karachi Port Trust The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani federal government agency under the administrative control of the Federal Maritime Secretary that oversees the operations of the Port of Karachi, one of South Asia's largest and busiest de ...

(KPT) building. With

he developed and popularised the

style in architecture. He died of acute dysentery in Mumbai in 1926, and is buried in the

Sewri cemetery The Sewri Christian Cemetery ( Marathi: शिवडी ख्रिस्ती स्मशान भूमि ''Sewrī Kristi smashan bhumi'') in Sewri, Mumbai, India, was established by Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal Commissioner o ...

References

Scottish architects People from Perth and Kinross 1878 births 1926 deaths Sir J. J. School of Art faculty {{Scotland-architect-stub