Gidoni-Mandelstam Elsa (Elza) (1901, Riga – 1978, Washington) — architect and interior designer.

Elsa Gidoni-Mandelstam studied architecture at the Technological Institute in Berlin and Charlottenburg. In 1929, she opened her own architectural practice in Berlin. In 1933, she emigrated to Palestine, becoming one of the pioneering women in progressive architecture.

Her designs included the Beit HaHalutzot building in Tel Aviv, the Swedish Pavilion at the 1934 exhibition, the School of Economics building in Tel Aviv, and the Galina Café — a striking example of the progressive International Style. These buildings featured cubic forms, flat roofs, characteristic horizontal windows, and smooth wall surfaces.

In 1938, Elsa Gidoni-Mandelstam moved to New York, where in 1939 she was involved in designing the General Motors “Futurama” Pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair. From 1943, she worked at the architectural firm Kahn & Jacobs, becoming the seventh registered female architect in New York.

In June 1948, she was featured in Architectural Record for her outstanding achievements in architecture. She retired in 1974 and was buried at Hillside Cemetery in Culver City, California. Her professional archive was donated to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.