Modernism as a vehicle for social change in the Nordic welfare-states
Introduction by: Nils-Ole Lund, MAA
Publisher: Arkitekturtidsskrift B
Examining Modernism as a vehicle for social change in the Nordic welfare states.
Editor's note: For a background on the The Modern Movement in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), I highly recommend the book 'docomomo.' The following, very informative introduction (abridged) is by Professor Nils-Ole Lund.
The period between the two great wars was a time of great unemployment and a severe housing shortage. A modern architecture, which corresponded to the needs of a modern society, was developed in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. In some countries the formal vocabulary was most important; in others the social aspects were at the forefront. The new thoughts came to the Nordic countries as an import.
Nordic architects met the new architecture at the exhibition of decorative arts in Paris in 1925, and in the shape of the L'esprit nouveau-pavillon of Le Corbusier, but the main influence came from Germany. Traditionally, there was a close cultural connection between Germany, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. The housing schemes of the Weimar-republic became a model because of the size and rationality of the planning. Organizations similar to the German Werkbund were established.
The new nation, Finland, used the modernistic architecture as a marketing tool abroad, portraying a society where nature and culture were in harmony. The international position of Alvar Aalto was a great help and his pavilions at the world expositions in Paris in 1937 and New York in 1939 became monuments in the history of modern architecture. They showed how the second generation of modern architects modified the International style into a regional version - a Nordic organic modernism.
Nils-Ole Lund, MAA
Abridged introduction to 'docomomo'
Publisher: Arkitekturtidsskrift B Contact: Gilbert Hansen
Five Examples:
Architect: Alvar Aalto
House of Culture/Kulttuuritalo,
1955-58 Helsinki, Finland
The House of Culture is an example of the strong, sculptural forms developed by Aalto since the 1930´s. It is the first modern building in Finland especially designed for concert and congress functions. Voluntary work amounting to thousands of hours helped to construct the building that is considered one of the most remarkable architectural monuments to the Finnish working class. Aalto divided the functions of the complex into two completely different kinds of buildings. The copper-plated office wing is strictly geometrical while the asymmetrical concert hall receives its exterior form by a close adherence to the free form of the interior space. It is remarkable that specially designed and produced bricks, stressing Aalto's ability in technical invention achieved the desired building form. The asymmetrical, conch-like form of the concert hall is echoed in the street side elevation: the free curve required the manufacture of a special kind of wedge-shaped brick. The orthogonal office wing contrasts the convex hall; together, they flank the sheltered front court. A long, covered way ties the street side elevation together. Here, Aalto creates unity out of disparate elements. The auditorium is one of the best concert halls in Helsinki.
Architects: Private Building Contractors
Carl Larssons väg, Zornvägen,
1933-1939 Stockholm, Sweden
The town plan from 1933 can be regarded as a garden city. The municipality of Stockholm and the city planning office commissioned the plan. Private building contractors built the houses. It is a residential area with more than 500 houses in the Modern Movement style. The houses have individuality, but the area gives a very conformed impression by the white plastered, cubic forms with mostly flat, green sheet-iron roofs.
Architect: Frithjof Reppen
Semi-Detached Housing Oslo, Norway
In 1928-30, the architect Frithjof Reppen designed some semi-detached houses on Professor Dahl Street in Oslo. The buildings were finished in 1931. In order to capture as much sunlight as possible, the architect curved the buildings; therefore they are often referred to as the 'Banana Houses.' The two buildings running north/south have a depth of 9.5 meters and are two or three stories high with reinforced concrete dividing the stories. Originally, the highest and southernmost part of the building was zoned for two-storied buildings only. This explains why the buildings differ in height. The buildings are faced with washed bricks. By giving the houses horizontal bands of windows, the architect emphasized the curved form of the houses. Towards the street a low wall connects the two rows of buildings. Behind this wall, one finds an enclosed garden with old birch trees from the time before the buildings were built.
Being laid out in a sloping terrain, the buildings display an elegant solution to a difficult building task where the desire for sufficient sunlight was decisive. The plan is good, and was later used as a model for other flats. The design is simple yet well proportioned, with a certain discreet tension in the use of a few repetitive elements. These semi - detached houses display some of the finest housing complexes in the early years of functionalism in Norway.
Architect: Sigurdur Gudmundsson
Single Family House,
1931-32 Reykjavik, Iceland
The first buildings in Iceland that clearly expressed the aesthetics of modern architecture were private houses of well-to-do families in Reykjavik, most of which were designed in the office of architect Sigurdur Gudmundsson between 1929 and 1931. The houses were built of reinforced concrete and had many of the external characteristics of European cubist architecture of the 1920´s: flat roofs, sun terraces, steel window casings, and corner windows. Regrettably, nearly all of the early modern houses have been robbed of their stylistic features almost beyond recognition. One house by Gudmundsson remains where the exterior appearance is more or less intact, Freyjugata 46. A gently sloping roof has been added to the original flat roof and the original window frames have been placed with new ones of wood. The exterior walls of the house were originally coated with a mixture of cement and granite. The exterior coating has recently been restored with minerals in a lighter tone of gray.
Architects: Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller
Århus Town Hall,
1938-42 (landmarked 1995) Århus, Denmark
In 1937, Århus was growing fast and the city wanted a new and bigger city hall. The city council arranged a competition which Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller won. Before the city was able to accept the sober project, it had to be more monumental: the main entrance is worked up, the facades are faced with marble from Prosgrunn, Norway, and the 60-meter-high tower with bell and carillon was added. Bays of 3.15 meters give an outer, measured impression, and the short walls are movable without changing the construction - once again a sign of flexibility. The cast balconies and outer columns are made of white concrete with aggregate of calcinated flint. The roof is copper, the window is Oregon pine, and the frame is teak. The inner walls and wainscots are beach lists; the floor of the hall is bog oak. The building is designed very carefully in all details. The functional differentiation is mirrored in three divisions: main wing with hall, city council hall, and wedding ceremony hall; the administration wing; and registration office and pay office with its own 'tower entrance.
August 24, 2000
