Kathryn Findlay (26 January 1953 – 10 January 2014) was a Scottish architect.
Early life and education
Findlay was born in
Forfar
Forfar (; , ) is the county town of Angus, Scotland, and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million-pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town had a population of 16,280.
The town ...
in Scotland, the daughter of a sheep farmer, and studied fine arts at the
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...
.
She moved to England at the end of her first year in 1972 to study at the
Architectural Association
The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, symposia and publications. History
The Architectura ...
. While Findlay was studying at the Architectural Association, she was tutored by
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishmen ...
,
Christine Hawley, and Leon Van Schaik. Findlay graduated with an Architectural Association Diploma in 1979.
Career in Japan
In 1979 Findlay went to
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. While there, Findlay worked in
Arata Isozaki's office where she met her future husband, Eisaku Ushida. Findlay formed the architectural practice,
Ushida Findlay, in Tokyo in 1986 with her then-husband, Eisaku Ushida.
While in Japan, Findlay spent twenty years teaching and working in Japan. She was appointed as the first female academic in the Department of Architecture at the
Tokyo University
The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...
and the first foreigner to teach there since the 19th century
Meiji Period
The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...
.
Ushida Findlay built the Truss Wall House (1993) and Soft and Hairy House (1994) with their practice gaining recognition.
Later career
Findlay eventually returned to London and took her practice with her after having split from her husband in 1999.
[ Findlay worked on notable projects such as the RIBA Nominated Grafton New Hall (2002) and Pool House 2 (2009).]Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, and another for a Maggie's cancer centre for Wishaw
Wishaw (; ; ) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the River Clyde, Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The town is part of the Motherwell and Wishaw (UK Parliament constituency), Motherwell and Wishaw c ...
hospital, Lanarkshire.[ Findlay's practice went into bankruptcy in 2004.][ Findlay was subsequently employed by the School of Architecture at the ]University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...
, becoming a professor of Architecture and Environment in 2006.[ She was elected an Associate Member of the ]Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art.
The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...
in 2007.ArcelorMittal Orbit
The ArcelorMittal ''Orbit'' (often referred to as the Orbit Tower or its original name, ''Orbit'') is a sculpture and observation tower in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London. It is Britain's largest piece of public art, and i ...
for the London Olympics. Findlay was also made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland on 11 September 2013.Jane Drew Prize
The Jane Drew Prize is an architecture award given annually by the ''Architects' Journal'' to a person showing innovation, diversity and inclusiveness in architecture. It is named after the English modernist architect Jane Drew.
Background
...
'for her outstanding contribution to the status of women in architecture'.
References
Further reading
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External links
Ushida Findlay
Kathryn Findlay: Back with a redefined approach (The Architects' Journal, 27 February 2009)
[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/kathryn-findlay-designer-curved-andtactile-buildings-combining-practicality-organic-or-other-worldly-presence-9142485.html. buildings-combining-practicality-organic-or-other-worldly-presence-]
9142485.html.
*https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/kathryn-findlay-1953-2014.
https://www.royalscottishacademy.org/members/kathrynfindlay-rsa-elect/.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Kathryn
1953 births
2014 deaths
Alumni of the Architectural Association School of Architecture
Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art
British women architects
Deaths from brain cancer in England
People from Forfar
Scottish architects