Background
Rosemary Owen-Smith was born and raised in Birmingham to banker James Owen-Smith and Patricia Crossby and was trained as an architect at the Birmingham School of Artist
Rosemary Owen-Smith was born and raised in Birmingham to banker James Owen-Smith and Patricia Crossby and was trained as an architect at the Birmingham School of Artist
Birmingham School of Artist Architectural Association School of Architecture.
She began her career designing furniture in London and then worked on production drawings for the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham. After completing her education and moving to Sweden, she focused on town planning. After graduating in 1934, she found work designing church furniture in London before joining the more established Art Deco practice of Robert Atkinson, where she worked on the production drawings for the Barber Institute for Fine Arts in Birmingham.
lieutenant was during this time that she undertook a planning course at the Architectural Association before deciding to move to Sweden in the 1939 after visiting new housing projects on her previous holiday.
There, she worked for six years as an architect and town planner. Stjernstedt returned to England after World World War II and began working for the London County Council Housing Division.
From 1951 to 1955, she led the design team for Alton East Estate, a pioneering council housing estate in Roehampton that later became grade II listed buildings. When London County Council was dissolved in 1964, Stjernstedt began working for Lambeth London Borough Council under Ted Hollamby.
There, she was in charge of the design team for a variety of projects that included the masterplan for the Central Hill Estate, another landscaped, award-winning council estate.
In 1967, she moved to the Housing Development Directorate at the Department of Environment working under the architect, Pat Tindale. She helped Tinsdale with her research on layouts and on timber framed housing working closely with the Building Regulations Department. Stjernstedt retired in 1972 at the age of 60 and moved to Wales where she continued to work on modest alterations for the cottages of the local inhabitants.
The panel included Jane Drew, Elaine Denby, Lynne Walker and Pat Tindale.
She died on 31 October 1998.