Kirsten Sand

Kirsten Eleonore Helena Sand (27 November 1895 – 12 May 1996) was a Norwegian architect. In 1919, she became the first woman to graduate with full technical competence in architecture from the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH). Until the Second World War, she ran her own practice in Oslo where she designed private homes. After the war, she contributed to reconstruction projects, especially in Troms County in northern Norway.

Biography Born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Sand was the daughter of the lawyer August Nicolai Sand (1852–1940) and his wife Constance, née Hirsch, a schoolteacher. After matriculating from high school, she was admitted to the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1915 where she was the first woman to receive a full architecture diploma in 1919.

After working on military projects for several months, she joined August Nielsen's firm in Oslo. In 1928, she opened her own office which she ran until 1940, designing private homes, apartment buildings and summer houses for Oslo and the surroundings. They were usually in the Functionalist style. In the post-war period, Sand was one of the main contributors to the reconstruction of properties destroyed in the northern area of Troms where she was based from 1952 to 1966.

Later life In 1965, Sand was honoured with the King's Medal of Merit (gold).

Kirsten Sand died in Tromsø. She is buried in a family grave in Cemetery of Our Saviour in Oslo.