The University of Westminster has conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Professor John Owusu Addo aged 97.
Prof. Addo is a Ghanaian architect whose designs have shaped much of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) campus.
He is celebrated as one of the pioneering architects whose works shaped buildings in Ghana and beyond.
Honor
The Honorary Doctorate is of merit for his trailblazing contributions to architecture, and education in Ghana.
Prof. Owusu Addo holds a historic place in Ghana’s professional and educational landscape as the first Ghanaian architect.
At 97, his legacy continues to make waves. His designs were showcased recently in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence exhibition.
Journey
Prof. Addo was born in 1928 in Ghana.
At the age of 24, he earned a scholarship in 1952 to study Architecture at the Regent Street Polytechnic, now the University of Westminster.
After graduating in 1958, he returned to newly independent Ghana.
Prof. Addo collaborated with Kenneth Scott, a British Architect to advance Tropical Modernism, a climate-responsive architectural style that blends cultural relevance with environmental sustainability.
In 1961, Prof. Owusu Addo was tasked to design and construct landmark structures on the KNUST campus. He designed the iconic Unity Hall building and Cedi House and also supervised the construction of the Accra International Conference Centre.
Day View of the Unity Hall
Night View of the Unity Hall
Cedi House
In 1978, Prof. Addo served as the first Ghanaian Head of the Department of Architecture, Dean of the Faculty in 1978, and later Pro-Vice-Chancellor all on the KNUST campus until 1982.
Prof. Owusu Addo played a pivotal role in securing Commonwealth recognition for KNUST’s architecture graduates, opening doors for them to practice across Commonwealth countries.
Beyond KNUST, he served as Chairman of the Commonwealth Board of Architectural Education and Board Chair for Education Research and Technology at the Africa Union of Architects.
In 2005, he received the Order of the Volta for outstanding service to Ghana.
Sources: thevokofficial
