Signe Lagerborg-Stenius (1870 - 1968)

As a young girl, Signe Lagerborg demonstrated a talent for drawing. When she graduated from Helsinki Polytechnic, she was one of only three women qualified to be both an architect and art teacher. Signe Lagerborg went to work for Finland's State Board of Public Building as a civil service architect until she married Gunnar Stenius, a fellow architect, in 1905. Her work on that job was fairly standard.

However, she had done other designs during that time including four buildings in Helsinki, the nation's capital, that were used for private child-care. She designed other buildings related to children including a shelter, a nursery, and a home for children recovering from illness. In addition, she was active in politics and in the women's rights movement.

Signe and her husband worked as a team, which was not uncommon, because it meant that the wife could continue in her career without society frowning on her activities. She was not only a trailblazer in terms of working as a professional architect, she was also very socially conscious and used her abilities to help children have a better life.