Jane Durham

Jane Durham (23 February 1930 – 29 March 2019)[1] was a British architect and one of the first female founding partners of an architectural practice in Britain.

[4][1] The practice office was originally based in the Grand Building in Trafalgar Square, London, and initially undertook residential projects but later made its name with the modernist design for New Scotland Yard.

Durham played a pivotal role in the business operations of the practice, developing and managing systems to make sure that the buildings it designed were delivered on time and were high quality.

[4] Her entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography suggested that the practice's global expansion and success 'had much to do with Durham's creation of a blueprint for a large-scale firm dedicated to working on commercial projects for leading developers.

It is in this that her primary significance lies, especially given the decline of public practice from the 1980s onwards.’[1] Durham maintained her role as an architectural designer in the practice through projects such as a row of eight houses next to the Ritz Hotel, the upgrade of Carnaby Street, and large social housing projects for the Peabody association in Covent Garden and North Kensington.