Elsa Arokallio (18 August 1892, Kurkijoki – 3 October 1982,

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

) was a Finnish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. She was born in 1892 to Gustaf Arokallio and Elisabeth Parviainen. She graduated in 1910 and obtained her degree in architecture in 1919 from

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; ; , HUT in international usage) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and it was one of the three universities from which the modern d ...

. She created an architecture firm with her husband, Erkki Väänänen. After four years of marriage he died, and Arokallio ran the firm herself. She also worked for the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and helped design the

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

Kauhava Kauhava is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region, northwest of Helsinki and by the main railway from Helsinki to Oul ...

which were completed in 1933, and coastal artillery headquarters in Lahdenpohja, which were completed in 1933. In the 1930s she also worked with

Elsi Borg Elsi Naemi Borg (October 3, 1893 – December 30, 1958) was a Finnish architect. Life She was born in Nastola and died in Helsinki. She graduated from Helsinki University of Technology in 1919. She designed the infamous children’s hospital Ch ...

. In 1940 Arokallio moved to Viborg where she worked with Martha Martikainen-Ypyä. After World War II she worked in Lahti with architect Könönen and designed single-family houses. She went on to work at Finland's Building Board from 1953 to 1959, building schools in

Kokkola Kokkola (; , ) is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Central Ostrobothnia. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Kokkola is approximately , while the Kokkola sub-region, sub-region h ...

Jakobstad Jakobstad (; , ) is a town in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Jakobstad is situated in Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Jakobstad is approximately , while the Jako ...

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

and

Varkaus Varkaus, before 1929 known as Warkaus, is a Middle- Savonian industrial town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region, between the city of Kuopio and the town of ...

. She also began to work in

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arokallio, Elsa 1892 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Finnish architects People from Lakhdenpokhsky District People from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish women architects

Further reading

References