Philip Earle

30/04/1924

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Earle Scott was among a generation of architects which was dedicated not only to the profession but also to the broader community. He touched others with his selflessness, optimism and enthusiasm for the future of the profession (Landorf, 1999).

Scott was born in Adelaide and educated at Scotch College. On leaving school in 1940 he worked for the South Australian Railways, where his father was an engineer (Page, 1986). In 1942 he joined the Royal Australian Navy and served in the South Pacific arena on the H.M.A.S. Townsville during the Second World War until 1946. After leaving the navy and matriculating in 1947 Scott decided to develop his longstanding interest in construction and drawing into a career. In 1950 he graduated with the Diploma in Free Drawing and Modelling from the South Australia School of Arts. He then gained a Fellowship Diploma in Architecture in 1953 from the South Australian School of Mines and Industries and a Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture from the University of Adelaide in 1954 (Scott, 1992, 2010; Page, 1986).

After a short period with the Commonwealth Department of Works in 1951, Scott worked for F. Kenneth Milne, Dawkins, Boehm & Ellis from 1952 to 1954 (Page, 1986). He then joined the architectural firm of Garlick and Jackman in 1954 as a graduate architect. In 1959 he became a partner, the firm becoming Jackman Gooden and Scott Architects (Lee, 1979). When John Brian Swan became a partner in 1964 the firm became Jackman Gooden Scott & Swan Architects. In 1976 the firm became a proprietary limited company and Scott served as Chairman until 1983. He then served as a Director of the renamed Jackman Gooden Architects until his retirement in 1992 (Landorf, 1999).

To keep abreast of design and technical developments, Scott travelled to Asia, Europe and the United States. In 1970 he participated in the Cement and Concrete Association of Australia Study Tour of Japan. He visited Europe in 1975 and 1980 and the United States in 1980 and again in 1983, this time as a guest of the American Institute of Architects and the ‘People to People’ organisation inaugurated by President Eisenhower, to investigate the recycling and upgrading of historic buildings. In 1980 Scott attended the Singapore Convention of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and in 1987 toured the UK and Europe for Jackman Gooden Architects. He also had an active involvement with the CSIRO, the Cement and Concrete Association and the Institute of Architects and the Institute of Engineers (Scott, 1992).

Scott, who registered as an architect in South Australia in 1954 and later registered in the Northern Territory, was elected an associate of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) (SA Chapter) in 1954 and was President of the Chapter from 1971 to 1972. Memberships of RAIA committees included the Standing Committee for Complaints (1970–?) and the National Education Committee (1982–85). He was made a Fellow of the RAIA in 1964 and Life Fellow in 1976. In 1994 he was Senior Councillor. He joined the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1954. Scott was also active in other professional architectural bodies and was a member of the Practising Architects Association of South Australia from 1975 to 1981 and from 1968 to 1992 was on the Architects’ Board of South Australia. In 1996 he was involved in a retrospective of the 6th Australian Architectural Convention exhibition that had been held in 1956 (Scott, 1992, Scott 2010).

The standard of tertiary architectural training at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels was important to Scott. Between 1982 and 1986 he acted as chairman of review panels on the schools of architecture at the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Institute of Technology (SAIT; the University of South Australia (UniSA) from 1991) on behalf of the RAIA, the Architects’ Board and the Commonwealth Association of Architects to ensure their continued recognition as schools of architecture throughout Australia. He set standards for examination and examined candidates on practical experience prior to registration and was a member of the South Australian Board of Architectural Education from 1968 to 1984. In 1988 he sponsored a project management course at the SAIT and from 1988 to 1992 chaired the professional development course ‘Setting up practice and the business of architecture’. He was a member of UniSA Council from 1994 to 1998. UniSA acknowledged Scott’s contributions to its academic life and standing by making him an Honorary Life Member of the Alumni Association in 1988 and a University Fellow in 1999. He was an examiner of overseas candidates' qualifications for the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (Scott, 1992, Scott 2010).

Scott did not confine his interests to architecture. In 1971 he joined the SA Chapter Council of Professions and was President from 1975 to 1976; he was Vice-President of the Australian Council of Professions from 1976 to 1977. He was an Affiliate of the Royal Australian Planning Institute. As a Foundation Fellow and Grade 2 Arbitrator of the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia he arbitrated building disputes and professional competence challenges. Throughout his career he regularly acted as an expert witness on personal injury cases and prepared plans to alter residences and their layouts for disabled persons. He also investigated and reported on cases of accidents and dangerous surfaces and practices for insurance companies and acted as an assessor for the Magistrates and Industrial courts in South Australia. He joined the Legacy Club of Adelaide in 1999 (Scott, 1992, 2010).

As a graduate architect Scott was involved in the design, documentation and administration of office, warehouse, showroom, workshop and food processing projects in the motor trade, winery and manufacturing industries. Later projects included new designs or extensions for wool stores, retail and banking premises, pharmacies, offices and showrooms for clients including the South Australian Farmers Union, Eudunda Farmers Co-operative Limited, Friendly Societies Medical Association, the Savings Bank of South Australia and the Commercial Bank of Australia. He also undertook projects for Warburton Frankie throughout South Australia and Victoria (Scott).

His major commissions included alterations, additions and fit-out for Cox-Foys Department Store in Rundle Street, Adelaide (1959) which included a rooftop fairground boasting a ferris wheel. His premises for Motor Traders Ltd on Wakefield Street, Adelaide (1964, now demolished) had an 80-metre, two-storey frontage with a full height southern glass curtain wall. Scott completed the entire project, including all sketch plans, working drawings, specifications, structural calculations and drawings (with footings designed by JH Bullock Engineer), electrical and plumbing work, internal finishes of natural timber and glass, office furniture and floor coverings. Built by Wilkens & Burnside, the work was finished on time and within budget (Scott, 2010). Other major projects in Adelaide were the head offices of the State Government Insurance Commission in Waymouth Street and the Southern Farmers Group in Franklin Street (Landorf, 1999).

In all his work Scott emphasised the use of natural materials such as timber and brick and believed that buildings should fit into their environment and be pleasant to look at. He preferred easily maintained buildings with no pretentions. Such a building, he believed, could be 'a beauty in itself' (Lee, 1979). His approach was rewarded when he was presented with both the Clay Brick House Award and the Distinguished Achievement in Timber Award for his own house at Torrens Park in 1977 and the Clay Brick Award for the Hecker House in Belair in 1988. In 1999 he was awarded the Sir James Irwin President’s Medal for service to, and the promotion of, the profession of architecture. He was awarded the Order of Australia in 2006 for service to architecture and the community through welfare for persons with disabilities and adaptive reuse of heritage buildings.

Kerrie Round

Citation details
Round, Kerrie, ‘Scott, Philip Earle’, Architecture Museum, University of South Australia, 2013, Architects of South Australia: [http://www.architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au/arch_full.asp?Arch_ID=103]