When he was demobbed in 1947, Ham joined the [[Architectural Association]] to start his studies as an architect, where he would return later in his career to teach.<ref name=guardian/>
HamIn designed1954 he set up his own practice, and due to his love of amateur dramatics, decided to concentrate on theatre design.<ref name=guardian/> His early work included alterations to the Festival theatre in Battersea Park and additions to the Royal Court. His first major project was designing the [[Thorndike Theatre]] in [[Leatherhead]] within the shell of the disused 1930s Crescent Cinema, which opened in 1969.<ref name="c20society1"/><ref name="Fair2016" /> The building is now Grade II listed.<ref name=guardian/>
Ham designedwould go onto design the [[Derby Playhouse]], which opened in 1975., <ref name="Fair2016">{{cite book|author=Alistair Fair|title=Setting the Scene: Perspectives on Twentieth-Century Theatre Architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iU2rCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20|date=3 March 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-05692-8|page=20}}</ref> and the [[New Wolsey Theatre]] in [[Ipswich]], which was built from 1977 to 1979, followed by the Sackville theatre at Sevenoaks school in Kent, in 1981.<ref name=guardian/>
Ham designed the [[New Wolsey Theatre]] in [[Ipswich]], which was built from 1977 to 1979.
