Herman Munthe-Kaas

Herman Munthe-Kaas was a Norwegian architect and furniture designer. He was born in Oslo in 1890 and studied at the Oslo Technical School and the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry. He also studied at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the Academy of Arts in Copenhagen, where he was influenced by the Nordic classicism and functionalism movements. He opened his own architectural office in Oslo in 1921 and partnered with Gudolf Blakstad in 1922. Together, they designed several important buildings in Norway, such as the Kunstnernes Hus, the Haugesund City Hall, the Elgeseter Bridge, the Bodø Cathedral, and the Alfaset Chapel. They received the Houen Foundation Award in 1931 for their work on the Kunstnernes Hus. Munthe-Kaas was also active in the field of furniture design, creating modern and elegant pieces for various exhibitions organized by the Association of Applied Art and the Oslo Craft and Industry Association. He was a leading figure in the Norwegian architectural scene in the 1930s and 1940s, promoting a rational, simple, and functional approach to design. He died in Oslo in 1977 at the age of 86.