AADipl HonFRIAS

The AA was saddened to learn of the death of the much loved and admired Scottish architect Kathryn Findlay who passed away last Friday, 10 January.

Having studied at the AA from 1972 to 1979, graduating with a AA Diploma, Findlay formed the architectural practice Ushida Findlay in Tokyo in 1986 with her then husband Eisaku Ushida. There they found recognition with a series of idiosyncratic and inventive buildings such as the Truss Wall House (1993) and Soft and Hairy House (1994).

The practice relocated to the UK in 1999, with Findlay as Principal Director, working on notable projects such as the RIBA Nominated Grafton New Hall (2002) and Pool House 2 (2009).

Her most famous project came in 2012 when she worked as delivery architect for Anish Kapoor's monumental ArcelorMittal Orbit for the London Olympics. She was also made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) on the 11 September 2013.

Tragically it was announced just hours before her death last week that Kathryn had been awarded the 2014 Jane Drew Prize ‘for her outstanding contribution to the status of women in architecture’. Please click here for further details from the AJ website.