Elna Kiljander

Elna Julia Sofia Kiljander (4 November 1889 – 21 March 1970) was one of Finland's earliest female architects.

Born on 4 November 1889 in Sortavala, Elna Kiljander was the daughter of the music teacher Nikolai Nils Kilander and his Swedish-born wife Julia Svensson.

She graduated as an architect from the Helsinki University of Technology in 1915 and went on to teach graphic design in Povenets in Russian Karelia, returning to Finland the following year.

She subsequently adopted the style in her housing designs as well as in the model kitchens she developed for the Martha Association.

[4] Kiljander was a feminist, becoming a member of Architecta, the Finnish women's architecture association, from its establishment in 1942.