Wäinö Palmqvist

Wäinö Palmqvist was born to civil servant Gustaf August Palmqvist and Selma Katharina née Ingman.[3]

He completed his secondary education in 1900, and went on to study architecture at the Helsinki Polytechnical Institute (later Helsinki University of Technology, now part of Aalto University), graduating in 1905.[4] Afterwards, he undertook several research trips around Europe, between 1907 and 1929.[3]

Palmqvist was married twice: in 1910 he married Elsa née Ruuth, with whom he had three children; the couple divorced later. In 1925, he married Vivi née Candelin, and they had two children together.[3] His son from the second marriage, Kai Palmqvist, also became an architect.[1]

In the early part of his career, Palmqvist worked assisting notable architects of the time, including Gustaf Nyström, Birger Brunila, Armas Lindgren and Lars Sonck.[4]

He ran his own design bureau, first, from 1910 to 1919, jointly with his business partner Einar Sjöström, and from 1919 onwards alone.[4]

Palmqvist's designs were characterised by massive, imposing features in the classical style, contrary to many of his contemporaries' plain and minimalist works.[4]

He was also active in many professional and public bodies, including as a board member of the Finnish Association of Architects (1918-1937; chairing it 1934–35), secretary of the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts (1922-1937), and member of various city planning and cultural panels of the City of Helsinki (throughout the 1920-30s).[3]

Palmqvist was a prolific designer with a career spanning four decades.[2] Some of his more notable creations include:[3]