On a balmy summer night, on the shoreline of a small island in southern Norway, a woman is seen camping outside, taking notes on the direction of the wind. This rugged site will soon be built with a house, designed by this woman, one of the country’s leading female architects, Wenche Selmer.
Wenche Selmer (1920–98) was one of the few women to gain prominence among Scandinavian architects in the 20th century. Deeply attuned to nature, Selmer often slept on the sites of her projects to understand factors like the quality of light of a setting sun or airflow. This collected data would then be incorporated into her designs, influencing where windows were placed for the best views or where a front door should be to avoid a chilly wind. Her portfolio comprises over 30 summerhouses or cabins, mostly on the southern coast of Norway, as well as numerous detached houses in Oslo. Selmer’s projects emphasize simplicity, oneness with nature, and a synthesis of modern architecture with Norway’s vernacular tradition of wooden cabins.
In May, a new exhibition at the National Museum in Oslo presents a selection of Selmer’s original drawings, personal items, and lecture notes from her time as a professor, as well as full-size building components. Wenche Selmer: What Can You Live Without, on view through October 4, 2026, is the museum’s first monographic series featuring a female architect. It is also the first retrospective of this scale on the architect.
Read more about Wenche Selmer and the exhibition on aninteriormag.com.
