Sweden: Ingrid Wallberg

Born in 1890 in Halmstad, Sweden, Ingrid Wallberg was the first woman architect to establish and independently operate an architectural firm in Sweden (1931). Wallberg did not receive a formal education in architecture, but pursued alternative routes of education in Germany. She attended an architecture class at the Königliche Kunstgewerbeschule (Royal School of Applied Arts) in Munich, Germany (1915), and took private lessons to learn perspective drawing. She also gained professional experience working as an assistant for Albert Lilienberg, her husband, who worked as a city planning engineer in Gothenburg, Sweden (c. 1909). In collaboration with Lilienberg, Wallberg participated in architectural competitions. Her designs were also featured in the Gothenburg Exhibition “House and Home Society” (1923).

After her divorce from Albert Lilienberg (c. 1927–1928), Wallberg relocated to Paris, France. She became an intern at Le Corbusier’s firm, and participated in evening lessons with Alfred Roth, a chief engineer for Le Corbusier’s firm. Wallberg returned to Gothenburg (1928) with Roth, and they established their own architectural firm, R & W (Roth & Wallberg, c. 1929). Wallberg also remarried to Gösta Göthlin (1929). When Roth relocated to Switzerland (1931), Wallberg continued to work at the firm, becoming the first woman architect to independently operate an architectural firm in Sweden. She also began to work for her father’s company, Wallbergs Fabriks AB, after he became ill (1955–1965), in addition to managing other professional ventures. Wallberg earned recognition as a member of Sveriges Arkitekters Riksförbund (Swedish National Association of Architects, 1938). She was also posthumously featured in a retrospective exhibition titled “Ingrid Wallberg : Architectural Pioneer” at the Halland Art Museum (2020–2021). Wallberg died in 1965 in Örgryte, Sweden.