Mumbai honours Gilbert Scott, Rajabai Tower’s architect

As the world observes the 200th birth anniversary of architect Sir Gilbert Scott, Mumbai also joins other cities to celebrate his contribution to their architectural heritage.

A month-long exhibition at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya’s Curators Gallery, that was inaugurated on July 13, will honour the architect.

The exhibition has been put together by the museum and Premchand Roychand and Sons who represent the descendants of Premchand Roychand, the stock broker who funded the construction of Rajabai Tower.

Besides the tower, which was completed in November 1878, Scott also designed the Mumbai university’s library and convocation hall next to the tower and fountain outside St Thomas Cathedral at Fort.

Even in Britain, Scott designed at least 800 buildings including hotels, university buildings, memorials, schools, hospitals and churches. In London, the St Pancras Hotel and the Albert Memorial are among the structures that he designed.

Scott was not as prolific in India as other architects like FW Stevens, who designed the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation building, the Western Railway headquarters or George Wittet who created the Gateway of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (Prince of Wales museum) and Grand Hotel. But according to city historian, Sharada Dwivedi, his international fame means that Mumbai is privileged to have buildings designed by him.

“Most of the others who created great buildings came to India as engineers or as consulting architects to the government. Many of them had no international renown. Scott is the only globally recognised architect to produce structures in Mumbai,” said Dwivedi.

Amazingly, the architect never visited Mumbai and did the designs for the buildings in his London office.