Eva Koppel née Ditlevsen (1 January 1916 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

– 2 August 2006 in Copenhagen) 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 in 1936 and together they worked in Alvar Aalto's studio in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

(1938–1939) and later joined him in Stockholm 1943–1945) before establishing their own studio in 1946. Initially, they designed simply styled single-family homes including Henning Koppel's house in Birkerød 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 ( da, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), 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 fir ...

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 The Technical University of Denmark ( da, Danmarks T ...

(1961–1975), the

Panum Building The Panum Building (formerly referred to as the Panum Institute) is a large building complex that is part of the University of Copenhagen's North Campus (University of Copenhagen), North Campus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It houses the University of C ...

in Copenhagen (1966–1986), and the South Campus of the

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

on Amager (1972–1979). All these buildings were designed in the Brutalist style. In addition, they contributed to the

Statens Museum for Kunst The National Gallery of Denmark ( da, Statens Museum for Kunst, also known as "SMK", literally State Museum for Art) is the Danish national gallery, located in the centre of Copenhagen. The museum collects, registers, maintains, researches and han ...

(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 Ec ...

. 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, it ...

), 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