Agnes Magnell (26 November 1878,

Uddevalla Uddevalla (old no, Oddevold) is a town and the seat of Uddevalla Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. In 2015, it had a population of 34 781. It is located at a bay of the south-eastern part of Skagerrak. The beaches of Uddevalla ...

– 1966) was a Swedish architect. She was the first woman in Sweden to be admitted to the

Royal Institute of Technology The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technol ...

to study architecture.

Life and work

Agnes Magnell came from an affluent family, her father was an officer and a landowner. She started artistic studies in 1894 at

Konstfack Konstfack, or University of Arts, Crafts and Design, is a university college for higher education in the area of art, crafts and design in Stockholm, Sweden. History Konstfack has had several different names since it was founded in 1844 by the ...

in Stockholm and was there encouraged by one of her teachers to apply to study architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology. Although in principle women were not allowed to study at the institute, an exception was made after her father had written a formal request to the

King in Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...

. She was the first woman to be admitted to the school for the purpose of studying architecture. She studied at the Royal Institute of Technology for four years. In the last year of her studies she met and married an engineer named Schmitt, and spent some time working with her husband designing

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conjun ...

s and electricity power plants. She never graduated, and after a few years stopped working actively to instead become a housewife. The water tower in

Sala Sala or SALA may refer to: Places Europe * Sala, the historical name of the river IJssel and home of the Salii Franks * Sala (Estonian island), one of the Uhtju islands * Sala Baganza, a municipality in Emilia-Romagna, Italy * Sala Bolognese, a ...

is an example of her work.

Life and work

References

Further reading