The Reclamation Project
Accra Dec. 2021
The Reclamation Project is a site based archival sound work and installation that investigates
preservation and design at the intersection of inheritance and stewardship- on the grounds
of the 1960s constructed tropical modern Scott House. This installation will show exclusively
at the Scott House for Architecture Is A Party and then live as an audio assemblage NFT
where all participants from the party and main interviewees will hold the legacy of this
conversation on the block chain.
The audio archive plays a continual loop of four voices: Sydney Quartey (grandson of Madam
Scott), Dominique Petit Frère (Scott House Project Lead), Mr. David (18 yr Gardener) and
Maxwell (2 year Security Guard) as they share personal narratives of their relationship with the
architectural masterpiece.
The wood paneling, slatted wings and multi-crossed ventilation of the Scott House take a
modernist design approach that appreciates, preserves and adapts to the tropical climate of
Accra. Intentionally designed methods of cooling, shade and escapism have offered a refuge
to the multi generational Scott family since ‘61. A replica of the home was built on the
grounds years later expanding the capacity of the design to house more people, hold more
dinners, and offer more space.
Like the home, the Scott Family has adapted to its environment, holding and preserving the
natural changes that come with familyhood. From the hands of Kenneth Scott, to the
maintenance of Madam Scott and now to the responsibility of the younger descendant; what
has been inherited expects preservation of the old in a rapidly changing Accra environment.
The Scott house has inadvertently created three archetypes: The Stewards, The Futurists and
The Madam. This archival installation weaves together these complicating narratives and
relationships to the house, prompting questions about lineage, change and legacy.
The Black Discourse Archivist Team
Koumbah Semega-Janneh + Zion Estrada

Materials
Audio loop recording
Printed material
Commissioned local wood bench
Scott House Garden cuttings

Many Thanks to
Kenneth Scott
Madam Scott
Dominique Petit- Frère
Syndey Quartey
Mr. David
Maxwell
The Scott Family

The Reclamation Project Sonic Collage

BlackDiscourse.co