Der Scutt (October 17, 1934 – March 14, 2010) was an American
architect and designer of a number of major and notable buildings throughout
New York City and the
United States.[3]
In 1961 he joined
Edward Durell Stone. From 1962 to 1965, Scutt worked for
Paul Rudolph and managed Rudolph's New York office. From 1965 to 1975, Scutt was an associate with Kahn and Jacobs, where he designed
One Astor Plaza. He joined Poor Swanke Hayden & Connell Architects in 1975 and was a partner in charge of design there from 1976 to 1981. Der Scutt began his own private practice in 1981.
Scutt established his own firm, Der Scutt Architect, in 1981 and was awarded an impressive group of commissions, including the 55-story
100 United Nations Plaza Tower luxury condominium, the 57-story
Corinthian luxury condominium in New York City,
HSBC Bank USA headquarters in New York City, and the
Roure Bertrand Dupont United States headquarters in
New Jersey. Scutt's major high rise office building renovations include those at 505
Park Avenue, 625 Madison Avenue,
575 Lexington Avenue, 1633
Broadway, 57 West 57th Street, 823 United Nations Plaza,
555 Fifth Avenue, the world corporate headquarters of International Flavors and Fragrances, and 1615 L Street in Washington, D.C.[4]
Scutt participated actively as an author, lecturer, teacher, and officer in a variety of professional organizations. He was vice-chairman of the New York Building Congress for five years. He was the 1976 recipient of the Illuminating Engineering Society's Distinguished Service Award and was the first architect to receive that award. In 1979 he was elected to the prestigious and coveted Fellow Grade of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (I.E.S.N.A.) Scutt was a fellow of the
American Institute of Architects.
As the project designer for numerous corporate and institutional buildings and interiors, Scutt's work has been published in magazines, newspapers, professional journals and popular magazines — both in the United States and internationally. In November 1981, The New York Times Magazine cover photograph included Scutt as one of New York City's prominent master architects, along with
John Burgee,
Cesar Pelli,
Philip Johnson,
Edward Barnes, and
Raúl de Armas. In 1984, two magazines, Interiors and The Designer, published cover stories on Scutt.
In 1987 Der Scutt was selected by a group of prestigious architects to be included in the international bibliography, Contemporary Architects. He was a visiting critic in architectural design at
Harvard University,
Yale University, and
Washington University in St. Louis. He also served on numerous design juries for the AIA, IESNA, Concrete Industry Board of New York, Progressive Architecture and The Tucker National Architecture Awards.
In 1989, Scutt bought his first ship model at a flea market and amassed one of the most unusual private nautical collections in the world. His collection spanned four centuries, including ocean liners, warships, commercial ships, sailing ships, and paddle steamers. The models came from all over the world. Articles on his collection of over six hundred models appeared in The New York Times, The Journal of Commerce, Town & Country, Nautical Collector, and other publications. In 2001 the
South Street Seaport Museum acquired the Der Scutt Collection of Ocean Liner models and memorabilia.[5]
In 1996, the Reading Pennsylvania Public Museum featured a major retrospective exhibit of Der Scutt's work and published the first comprehensive book on his work.[6]