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Drew, Jane B(everley)
(b Thornton Heath, Surrey, 24 March 1911). British architect, teacher and writer, wife of E. MAXWELL FRY. She studied at the Architectural Association, London, in 1929–34 and as a student worked for Grey Wornum on the construction of the RIBA headquarters in London. After graduating, she set up a practice with James Alliston, her first husband, building some houses and other small-scale works. From 1940 to 1945 she practised independently, and in 1941–3 she was a consultant to the British Commercial Gas Corporation, undertaking specialist studies on the design of kitchens, which culminated in the Kitchen Planning Exhibition (London, 1945). In 1942 Drew married Fry, and in 1944–6 they both worked as planning advisers to the resident minister for the West African Colonies, subsequently publishing Village Housing in the Tropics (1947), which was largely Drew’s work. She also founded the Architects Yearbook (1946), acting as joint editor with Trevor Dannatt until 1962. In 1946 Drew and Fry set up a partnership in London and began the first of a large number of projects in Africa, mostly schools and colleges, notably University College (1953–9), Ibadan (see FRY, E. MAXWELL; see also NIGERIA, §IV, 2). In this work they pioneered the introduction of Modernism, adapting it to local materials and conditions; they also introduced a scientific approach to climatic design, and their later books on tropical architecture became standard texts. In 1951 Drew was appointed with Fry as Senior Architect on the construction of Chandigarh, the new capital city of the Punjab designed by Le Corbusier, where she worked mainly on government and private housing and associated amenities (see CHANDIGARH, §1). She also designed buildings in Kuwait, Iran and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), while notable late works in Britain include housing schemes at Hatfield and Welwyn (both Herts; 1964) and at Harlow, Essex (1964); School for the Deaf (1968), Herne Hill, London; Open University (1969–77), Milton Keynes, Bucks; and Torbay Hospital (1973), Devon. Her commitment to modern art and architecture was reflected in her friendships with many contemporary artists, and in 1970 she designed premises at Carlton House Terrace, London, for the Institute of Contemporary Arts, with which she had been involved since its inception. Drew was a visiting professor at several architectural schools in the USA (1961–76) and was President of the Architectural Association (1969); she was also the first woman to be elected to the Council of the RIBA, serving in 1964–70 and again in 1971–4.
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