Michael Scott (24 June 1905 – 24 January 1989) was an Irish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

whose buildings included the Busáras building in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Cork Opera House, the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

and both Tullamore and Portlaoise Hospitals.

Early life and education

He was born in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

in 1905. His family originated in the Province of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. His father, William Scott, was a school inspector from near Sneem on the

Iveragh Peninsula The Iveragh Peninsula () is located in County Kerry in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula. Carrauntoohil, its hig ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. His mother was from

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. Michael was educated at

Belvedere College Belvedere College Society of Jesus, S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a fee-paying voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. Formally established in 1832 at Hardwicke Street in north inner city Dublin, the school was ...

. There he first demonstrated his skills in painting and acting. Initially, he wanted to pursue a career as a painter but his father pointed out that it might make more financial sense to become an architect.

Career

Scott became an apprentice for the sum of £375 per annum to the Dublin architectural firm Jones and Kelly. He remained there from 1923 until 1926, where he studied under Alfred E. Jones. In the evenings after work, he also attended the Metropolitan School of Art and the Abbey School of Acting, and appeared in many plays there until 1927, including the first productions of Seán O'Casey’s (1884-1964) Juno and the Paycock and The Plough and the Stars. On completing his pupilage he became an assistant to Charles James Dunlop and then had a brief spell as an assistant architect in the Office of Public Works. In 1931 he partnered with Norman D. Good to form Scott and Good, and they opened an office in Dublin. Scott and Good’s designed the hospital at Tullamore (1934–37) and Portlaoise General Hospital (1935). Between 1937 and 1938, Scott was the President of the Architectural Association of Ireland (AAI Laois). He founded his company, Michael Scott Architects, in 1938. That same year he also designed his house Geragh, at

Sandycove Sandycove () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is southeast of Dún Laoghaire and Glasthule, and northwest of Dalkey. It is a popular seaside resort and is well known for its bathing place, the Forty Foot, which in the past was reserved for m ...

, County Dublin. Scott’s most important pre-war commission was the Irish Pavilion for the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

in 1938. Scott produced a shamrock-shaped building constructed in steel, concrete, and glass. It was selected by an international jury as the best building in the show. As a result, Scott was presented with a silver medal for distinguished services and given honorary citizenship of the city of New York by the then Mayor

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Yo ...

. Other better-known architects who designed national pavilions for this World Fair included

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

of Finland and

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...

(born 1907) of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Scott had three major commissions from the Córas Iompair Éireann CIÉ, the Inchicore Chassis Works, the Donnybrook Bus Garage (1952) and, most famously, the Dublin Central Bus Station, to be known as àras Mhic Dhiarmada or Busáras. Though initially controversial, Busáras was to win Scott the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland Triennial Gold Medal for Architecture. Scott was the founder of Rosc and the chairman of the board for many years. Rosc '67 was a large, first of its kind, Irish art exhibition which showed historic treasures from Irish history alongside hundreds of contemporary artworks. The Rosc series of exhibitions continued for 21 years. Later, Ronnie Tallon and Robin Walker became partners, and the firm was renamed

Scott Tallon Walker Scott Tallon Walker is an architecture practice with its head office in Dublin, Ireland and further offices in London, Galway and Cork. It is one of the largest architecture practices in Ireland. Established in 1931 as Scott and Good, becomi ...

in 1975, shortly after the firm won the

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

.De Breffny, pg. 210. Scott, who spent most of his life living at

Point, just south of

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

in south Dublin, was buried near Sneem in County Kerry.

Works

* 1936-42 Tullamore General Hospital, Tullamore, County Offaly * 1933-36 Portlaoise General Hospital, Portlaoise, County Laois * 1938–39 Irish Pavilion, New York World's Fair, New York * 1945–53 Busáras, Store Street, Dublin * 1946-48 O’Donoghue (Donohoe) Public house and residence, Edenderry, Co Offaly * 1946–48 Chassis factory, Inchicore * 1946–51 Bus garage at Donnybrook * 1969 Wesley College, Dublin (Current Campus) * Conway House, East Wall Road Dublin 3 one-piece staircase

References

External links

Michael Scott at RTE's Ireland's Millennia People

Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720 - 1940
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Michael People from Drogheda 1905 births 1989 deaths Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal People educated at Belvedere College 20th-century Irish architects Architects from County Louth