Ella Briggs facts for kids

Ella Briggs (born Ella Baumfeld; March 5, 1880 – June 20, 1977) was an important Austrian architect. She was a pioneer for women in architecture, becoming the first authorized female architect in Austria.

Ella Briggs's Journey

Early Life and Education

Ella Baumfeld was born in Vienna, Austria, on March 5, 1880. Her father was a lawyer. At that time, women were not usually allowed to study architecture in Germany. So, Ella started her studies at a painting school in Vienna. She learned from teachers like Adalbert Seligmann and later at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Exploring Architecture in America

In 1903, Ella traveled to the United States. She won a medal at a big event called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904. This showed her talent early on!

In 1907, she married Walter J. Briggs in New York. They later divorced in 1912. By 1910, Ella was known for her skills in interior design. She decorated several rooms in New York's New German Theatre. She also worked on the New York Press Club building. A magazine called The New York Architect praised her designs. They liked her wallpaper, special wall decorations, and how she used colors. They said she made modern design ideas fit American tastes.

Back in Europe: Making Her Mark

Ella continued her education in Europe. From 1916 to 1918, she took drawing classes at a technical building school. In 1919, she studied structural engineering in Salzburg. Then, she spent two years learning from the famous German architect Theodor Fischer in Munich.

In 1920, Briggs returned to the United States for a short time, working in New York and Philadelphia. She also wrote articles for different magazines. Her designs from her time in the U.S. are now kept at the Vienna Künstlerhaus.

A big moment came in 1921 when she became the first female member of the Austrian Engineers and Architects Association. She was also the first woman in Austria to be officially allowed to work as an architect! After returning to Vienna, she designed her only building there, the Pestalozzihof. She was also one of only two women, along with Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, who ran for the City of Vienna council during the years between the two World Wars.

Facing Challenges and Moving to England

From 1930 to 1933, Ella lived in Berlin, Germany. There, she designed housing areas and apartment buildings. Because she was Jewish, she had to leave Germany to escape the Nazis and moved to Vienna for safety. In 1936, she moved to England, even though she didn't have a work permit at first. Soon after, she designed homes for a housing cooperative in Enfield, London. In 1947, she became a British citizen. She opened her own office in London and continued working there for the rest of her life. Ella Briggs passed away in London on June 20, 1977.

What She Built

Here are some of the important buildings Ella Briggs designed:

• Pestalozzi-Hof in Vienna-Döbling, Philippovichgasse 2-4, built in 1925/1926.
• Wohnhausanlage (a housing complex) in Berlin-Mariendorf, Rathausstraße 81-83b / Königstraße 42-43, built in 1930.

The Pestalozzi-Hof, one of Ella Briggs's notable designs in Vienna.