- Nordic Classicism -
About:
Nordic Classicism was a style of architecture that briefly blossomed in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) between 1910 and 1930.
The development of Nordic Classicism was no isolated phenomenon, but took off from classical traditions already existing in the Nordic countries, and from new ideas being pursued in German-speaking cultures.
The style can thus be characterised as a combination of direct and indirect influences from vernacular architecture (Nordic, Italian and German) and Neoclassicism,
but also the early stirrings of Modernism from the Deutscher Werkbund – especially their exhibition of 1914 -
and by the mid-1920s the Esprit Nouveau emerging from the theories of Le Corbusier.
The modernist influence went beyond mere aesthetics: urbanisation tied to modern building techniques and the introduction of regulations both in building and town planning, and moreover,
to the rise of social forces that resulted in a change in political ideology toward the Left, resulting in the Nordic welfare state, and new programmes for public buildings
such as hospitals (e.g. the Beckomberga Hospital in western Stockholm (1927-1935) by Carl Westman) and schools (e.g. the Fridhemsplan school, Stockholm, (1925–27) by Georg A. Nilsson).
But while Nordic classicism was employed for a number of important public buildings, it was also applied as a model for low-cost housing (e.g. the Puu-Käpylä Garden Town, Helsinki (1920–25) by Martti Välikangas)
and domestic architecture in general (e.g. an affordable sense of style for the nouveau-riche).
1930 is usually considered the end point of Nordic Classicism because that was the year of the Stockholm Exhibition, designed mostly by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz,
when a more purist Modernism was unveiled as a model for a modern society.
However, key buildings continued to be built in the classical style after that, notably Östberg's Maritime Museum in Stockholm (1931–34).
- Wikipedia
Stockholm Public Library
Stockholm, Sweden
Built: 1924-1928
Architect: Gunnar Asplund
![Image]()
slatfats, on Flickr
![Image]()
Michael Casey, on Flickr
![Image]()
slatfats, on Flickr
![Image]()
Michael Casey, on Flickr
![Image]()
Henrik Sundholm, on Flickr
About:
Nordic Classicism was a style of architecture that briefly blossomed in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) between 1910 and 1930.
The development of Nordic Classicism was no isolated phenomenon, but took off from classical traditions already existing in the Nordic countries, and from new ideas being pursued in German-speaking cultures.
The style can thus be characterised as a combination of direct and indirect influences from vernacular architecture (Nordic, Italian and German) and Neoclassicism,
but also the early stirrings of Modernism from the Deutscher Werkbund – especially their exhibition of 1914 -
and by the mid-1920s the Esprit Nouveau emerging from the theories of Le Corbusier.
The modernist influence went beyond mere aesthetics: urbanisation tied to modern building techniques and the introduction of regulations both in building and town planning, and moreover,
to the rise of social forces that resulted in a change in political ideology toward the Left, resulting in the Nordic welfare state, and new programmes for public buildings
such as hospitals (e.g. the Beckomberga Hospital in western Stockholm (1927-1935) by Carl Westman) and schools (e.g. the Fridhemsplan school, Stockholm, (1925–27) by Georg A. Nilsson).
But while Nordic classicism was employed for a number of important public buildings, it was also applied as a model for low-cost housing (e.g. the Puu-Käpylä Garden Town, Helsinki (1920–25) by Martti Välikangas)
and domestic architecture in general (e.g. an affordable sense of style for the nouveau-riche).
1930 is usually considered the end point of Nordic Classicism because that was the year of the Stockholm Exhibition, designed mostly by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz,
when a more purist Modernism was unveiled as a model for a modern society.
However, key buildings continued to be built in the classical style after that, notably Östberg's Maritime Museum in Stockholm (1931–34).
- Wikipedia
Stockholm Public Library
Stockholm, Sweden
Built: 1924-1928
Architect: Gunnar Asplund
slatfats, on Flickr
Michael Casey, on Flickr
slatfats, on Flickr
Michael Casey, on Flickr
Henrik Sundholm, on Flickr
