Denise Scott Brown (1931-) is principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Scott Brown's ideas and work as architect, planner, urbanist, theorist, writer and educator have had a global influence, transforming thinking about architecture and cities.
She was born in what was then Northern Rhodesia in 1931. She attended the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, and the Architectural Association, London, before receiving a master's degree in architecture and city planning from the University of Pennsylvania, beginning a long association with the university and the city of Philadelphia, where she now lives.
Scott Brown and her husband and late partner, Robert Venturi, are regarded as among the most influential architects of the twentieth century, both through their architecture and planning, and theoretical writing and teaching. Denise Scott Brown was awarded the second Soane Medal in 2018. The Medal was established in 2017 to recognise individuals who have made a significant contribution to architectural culture and discourse, building on the legacy of Sir John Soane.