Walter Fairbairn was born in Edinburgh Midlothian Scotland in 1877 and was articled to William Hamilton Beattie (1842-1898) and George Lennox Beattie (1862-1932) of George Beattie & Sons in Edinburgh from 1892 to 1896. He then worked as an assistant to Frank Lewis Worthington Simon (1862-1933) in Edinburgh in 1896-97; to Robert Rowand Anderson (1834-1921) of Wardrop & Anderson in Edinburgh from 1897 to 1899; to Thomas Greenshields Leadbetter (1859-1931) and James McLellan Fairley (1860-1942) of Leadbetter & Fairley in Edinburgh from 1899 to 1901; and to Anderson Simon & Crawford in Edinburgh in 1901-02.
Fairbairn also attended George Watson's College and Heriot-Watt College in Edinburgh, and Edinburgh College of Applied Art.
He commenced independent practice as an architect in Edinburgh in 1903 and was in partnership with Alfred Greig (1870-1950) and George Donaldson Macniven (1878-1949) as Greig, Fairbairn & Macniven in Edinburgh in 1903.. When in 1915 Macnin withdrew from the partnership to take up a Govenment post, the practice became Greig & Fairbairn. The partnership was dissolved in 1925. Fairbairn then worked alone. From 1937 to 1939 he served as Chief Technical Officer to the Scottish Special Housing Association.
Fairbairn was awarded the Tite Prize in 1901 and was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1911. He died in Craiglockhart, Midlothian, Scotland on 30 December 1963
Works: Motherwell Public Library; Whitehaven Public Library; Bonnyrigg Public Library; Parish Council offices, Bonnyrigg; churches at Alvie, Kinloch, Rogart, Brora, Bruan, Glen Urquhart, Strathy, Muir of Ord, Tobermory. Lochs, Rosehall, and Aultbea for the United Free Church of Scotland — all In association with Alfred Greig. Licentiate R.I.B.A., and Geo. D. Macniven, Licentiate R.I.B.A. [Source:Who's Who in Architecture 1914]
For an additional list of architectural projects by Walter Fairbairn see the Dictionary of Scottish Architects 1660-1980
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001