In 1950, the famous Le Corbusier was asked to design the new state capital of Chandigarh for Punjab following its separation and recent independence. The opportunity to create a new utopia was unparalleled- and is now seen as one of the greatest urban experiments in the history of planning and architecture. The city employed grid street patterns, European-style thoroughfares, and raw concrete buildings- the zenith of Corbusier’s ideals throughout his career. But what is lesser known about the ideation and realization of Chandigarh, was the woman who brought her experience of designing social housing across Africa to the project. For three years, working alongside Corbusier, and helping him design some of the best-known buildings in Chandigarh, was Jane Drew.
Jane Drew was one of the first women architects in the United Kingdom, and a strong pioneer of the Modern architecture movement in her country. Along with being a notable architect, she was also a teacher, a rumored spy for the Royal Family, a fierce advocate for women, and a strong believer in social housing for all even experimenting with projects in West Africa and Asia. Drew grew up in a family that believed in the power of education and creativity. Her father was a renowned designer of surgical instruments and her mother was a school teacher.
After graduating from the Architectural Association in 1929, one of the few architecture schools that would educate women, Drew became a part of the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM) where she met Le Corbusier. Alongside Henry Moore and Elizabeth Lutyens, Drew founded MARS, the Modern Architectural Research Group which was formed to further advance concepts and ideals of the modernist design movement. One of Drew’s first design jobs she was offered was to redesign a kitchen, but feeling slighted by the offer, she immediately set up an architecture firm only for women to give them a chance to succeed away from the world of a male-dominated profession. Tragically, only a few years into her practice, her studio was bombed during World War II.
After marrying architect Maxwell Fry in 1942, she restarted her practice, and the couple focused primarily on public works in West Africa, including schools in Ghana. Drew and Fry found passion in working with the unique topography of the area and incorporating native design motifs, ultimately creating a new style known as Tropical Modernism. Working with the British government, Drew designed the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Her work across the continent drew the eye of government officials in India, who tapped Drew to assist Le Corbusier in the master plan and architectural design of Chandigarh. For three years, they worked together and created one of one of the most important projects in the history of architecture, integrating schools, health care facilities, and swimming pools into public housing structures, permanently altering the way housing across India would be designed.
After Chandigarh, Drew and her husband returned to London, where she would go on to design the London Institute of Contemporary Art in 1964 and the Milton Keynes Open University in Bedfordshire in 1969. Along with being a renowned architect who paved the way for women in the design profession, Jane Drew received tenure as a professor at both Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the 1980s. She was also the first woman to preside over the Architectural Association and was a member of the council for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Jane Drew was also awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Throughout her career, Jane Drew never accepted the status quo and always helped women seek out opportunities to continue their professional growth. Despite many setbacks, and dealing with the difficulties of working in a male-dominated profession, Drew’s designs still largely influence the way that architecture is discussed and practiced today.
