Latvia: Marta Zigrīda Staņa

Born in 1913 in Strenči, Russian Empire (modern-day Latvia), Marta Zigrīda Staņa is considered one of the prominent women architects in Latvian architectural history. She held a diploma from the Jelgava Teachers Institute (1932), and a diploma in architecture from the University of Latvia (1936–1945). She was employed as an assistant to Ernests Štālbergs in the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Latvia (c. 1950). Staņa worked as a construction manager (1953-1959), and she continued to teach at the Riga Secondary School of Applied Arts (c.1953-1959) and the Art Academy of Latvia (1958-1971), both in Riga, Latvia, before practicing architecture for the State Design Institute (1960–). She competed in and won design competitions for buildings including the Dailes Theatre (1959), which was completed in 1977. The Latvian Museum of Architecture houses a portion of her archive, and the collection was featured in the exhibition “Behind the Curtain: Architect Marta Staņa,” curated by Ieva Zībārte at the Kim? Contemporary Art Centre. Marta Zigrīda Staņa died in 1972 in Rīga, Latvian SSR, USSR.