Edinburgh-born architect Kate Macintosh is best known for her 1960s social housing projects, the first of which she designed at the remarkably young age of 26.

After graduating from the Edinburgh School of Art in 1961, Macintosh spent three years working and studying in Warsaw, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki before returning to the UK where she commenced work under Denys Lasdun on designs for the National Theatre in London. In 1965, aged 26, Macintosh began work for the Southwark architecture department, where she designed the distinctive Dawson’s Heights estate in Dulwich.

Following its completion, Macintosh embarked on a project in Lambeth, tasked with designing a housing facility for the elderly, and went on to work on similar housing projects in East Sussex and Hampshire. Later, Macintosh established a private practice with her partner, the architect George Finch also known for his post-war social housing projects.

Read more in our Directory of Architects and Designers.