Edith Ingpen

Edith Ingpen (1909–2006) was an Australian architect who lived and worked in Melbourne in the early to mid-twentieth century, and is noted as one of the few female architects in Victoria before WW2 to have had a solo practice.

Life Edith Constance Ingpen was born to Emma Louisa and Walter Cecil Ingpen on 24 July 1909 in Armadale, Victoria. Ingpen's father Walter Cecil Ingpen was a middle-class professional and held a position as a legal manager of the Royal Insurance company, 414 Collins St Melbourne when Ingpen was a child. Ingpen was a naturally shy person, which was not helped by a slight deafness and poor sense of smell. Ingpen was the first woman to receive Bachelor of Architecture degree from Melbourne University.

She died in the United Kingdom in January 2006.

Career Before fully completing her degree, in 1932 Ingpen began work with Harold Desbrowe-Annear who made her an associate of the practice (Desbrowe Annear & Associates). At the same time, she had taken on her first commission, a block of flats in East Melbourne, which was built 1933–34. It appears as though Ingpen's business was initially successful, winning many domestic commissions. After a little while in business Ingpen had enough time and money to enroll in the National Gallery of Victoria Art School and began taking classes.

As a young woman in business for herself Ingpen attracted a considerable amount of attention. She was interviewed by journalists and gave a lecture tour for the Country Women's Association among others. In 1936, Ingpen was described by Nora Cooper in the Australian Home Beautiful as "one of the best known women architects practicing solo in Melbourne."

In 1939 Ingpen was elected an associate member of the Royal Victorian Association of Architects.

After the beginning of World War II Ingpen found it more difficult to get commissions, and this in combination with the retirement of her father meant she could not longer afford to keep her office open. Her other commissions included a number of houses around Melbourne (Camberwell, Balwyn, East Melbourne) and country Victoria, including Warrnambool. While Ingpen was studying at the Gallery Art School she met Nina Montford, daughter of English sculptor Paul Raphael Montford. Nina introduced Ingpen to her father who appointed Edith to be his architect for a competition to design for layout and setting of a new statue for the King George V memorial in Canberra . The memorial was not completed until 1953.

In the mid 30s she designed and built a small circular bush cottage near Warragul for herself and her mother.

During her time at the VPWD Ingpen worked on a range of diverse of projects. Included were two buildings for the University of Melbourne Engineering School and the conversion of the former Queen Victoria hospital on Williams street into the Peter MacCallum Hospital. She also worked on designs for migrant accommodation