Background
Winkel was born in Aken bei Dessau.She was quite a skilled carpenter which allowed her to get a place to study architecture as a guest student at the College of Technology in Hanover (1902–1908).
Winkel was born in Aken bei Dessau.She was quite a skilled carpenter which allowed her to get a place to study architecture as a guest student at the College of Technology in Hanover (1902–1908).
However, she was refused a diploma as women were not entitled to the qualification until 1909. In 1908, she went to Berlin where she set up her own architecture practice, later employing a staff of up to 15. Before the Second World War, she built some 30 large private houses in and around Berlin as well as the Victoria-Luise girls high school, also known as the Victoria Studienhaus (1915) on Otto-Suhr-Allee.
After the war, she participated in reconstruction work until late in life.
She died at the age of 76 in Hovedissen near Bielefeld.
During the war years, not being a member of the National Socialist party, she worked on the restoration of Schloss Grüntal near Bernau.