Kininmonth was born in
Forfar,
Angus. He was educated at
Dunfermline High School and later,
George Watson's College in
Edinburgh. His first architectural training was with William Thomson of Leith, where he was
articled. From 1925 to 1929 he also attended classes at
Edinburgh College of Art under
John Begg, where he first met
Basil Spence, then a fellow student. With Spence, Kininmonth spent a year as an assistant in the office of Sir
Edwin Lutyens in London, working on designs for the
Viceroy's House in New Delhi, and attending evening classes at
The Bartlett under
Albert Richardson. Returning to Edinburgh, Kininmonth took a teaching post at Edinburgh College of Art, becoming a senior lecturer in 1939. In 1931, Kininmonth set up in practice with Basil Spence, working from a single room in the office of
Rowand Anderson & Paul in Edinburgh. Kininmonth & Spence executed several commissions for private houses in Edinburgh, including the former's own modernist house at 46a Dick Place, The Grange (1933). In 1934 Kininmonth and Spence was merged with the Rowand Anderson practice, forming Rowand Anderson & Paul & Partners. When Arthur Balfour Paul died in 1938, Kininmonth and Spence became sole partners. In 1942 he was called up for military service, and served with the
Royal Engineers in North Africa and Italy. After the war, Basil Spence set up his own practice, while Kininmonth continued the renamed Rowand Anderson Kininmonth & Paul. Kininmonth was
knighted in 1972, and awarded an honorary degree by the
University of Dundee in 1975. During his apprenticeship Kininmonth lived in a house of his own design: 46a Dick Place, The Grange, Edinburgh. He was married to the artist
Caroline Kininmonth. == Selected projects ==