Eva Koppel née Ditlevsen (1 January 1916 – 2 August 2006) was a Danish architect who together with her husband Nils ran one of Denmark's largest architectural firms (KKET, later KKE).Helle Bay, "Eva Koppel"
''Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon''. Retrieved 3 February 2012.

Biography

The daughter of a bank director, Eva Koppel was educated at the

Danish Academy Danish Academy is an independent organisation founded in 1960 by a circle of Danish intellectuals "to promote Danish esprit and language, especially within the field of literature". It has up to 20 members, currently 18, and is based at Rungstedl ...

in Copenhagen (1935–1941). She married the architect

Nils Koppel Nils is a Scandinavian given name, a chiefly Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Latvian variant of Niels, cognate to Nicholas. People and animals with the given name * Nils Elias Anckers (1858–1921), Swedish naval officer * Nils Beckman (1902–19 ...

in 1936 and together they worked in

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

's studio in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

(1938–1939) and later joined him in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

1943–1945) before establishing their own studio in 1946. Initially, they designed simply styled single-family homes including Henning Koppel's house in

Birkerød Birkerød () is a town in Rudersdal Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is surrounded by several lakes and small woodlands. Birkerød station is located on the Nordbanen, Hillerød radial of the S-train suburban networ ...

and their own home in

Gentofte Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...

(1946] which is listed."Eva Koppel"
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 3 February 2012. Their breakthrough came with ''Langeliniepavillonen'' (the Langelinie Pavilion) in 1957. They were subsequently known for their large public buildings and restoration projects including the Hans Christian Ørsted Institute in Copenhagen (1955–1962), the

Technical University of Denmark The Technical University of Denmark (), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and it is today ran ...

Lundtofte Lundtofte is a neighbourhood in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, located north of Kongens Lyngby. The town is bordered by Nærumbanen, the Mølleåen river, the Technical University of Denmark and the Helsingørmotorvejen Helsingørmotorvejen is ...

(1961–1975), the Panum Building in Copenhagen (1966–1986), and the South Campus of the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

Amager Amager ( ), located in the Øresund, is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 216,000 inhabitants (January 2022). The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (including Kalvebod Fælled) makes up more than one-third of the ...

(1972–1979). All these buildings were designed in the

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

style. In addition, they contributed to the Statens Museum for Kunst (1966–1970). In 1955, Eva Koppel was awarded the

Eckersberg Medal The Eckersberg Medal (originally the ''Akademiets Aarsmedaille'' or Annual Academy Medal) is an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. It is named after Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, known as the father of Danish painting. The ...

. From 1951 to 1973, she was vice-chairman of the board for the Design School for Women (

Tegne- og Kunstindustriskolen for Kvinder Tegne- og Kunstindustriskolen for Kvinder (literally Draftsmanship and Industrial Design School for Women but sometimes referred to as the Arts and Crafts School for Women) was a private Danish educational establishment in Copenhagen. From 1875, i ...

), and in 1972 she became a member of the Academy."Nils Koppel"
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 3 February 2012. In addition to her architectural work, she is remembered as being musical and creative as well as a competent administrator.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koppel, Eva 1916 births 2006 deaths Architects from Copenhagen Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Brutalist architects Danish women architects Danish women academics