Arkitekten Ivar Tengbom : byggnadskonst på klassisk grund

Sammanfattning: Arkitekten Ivar Tengbom - byggnadskonst på klassiskgrund (The Architecture of Ivar Tengbom). With an Englishsummary. 384 p. Illustrated. Byggförlaget, Stockholm. ISBN 91-7988-205-6.Ivar Tengbom (1878-1968) was one of the most prolific Swedish architects of the first decades of the 20th century. He combined a large private office with commissions as Professor of architecture at the Royal Academy in Stockholm and as Director General of the Board of Works. The purpose of this thesis is to establish a thorough knowledge of Ivar Tengbom's work and its theoretical background. As a hypothesis, 19th century architectural theory is considered to have had a great impact on the early development of Swedish architecture in the 20th century.Continuously present in Ivar Tengbom's work, is an urge to combine a rational approach to the arts and crafts with the architectural principles of the classical tradition. This urge is demonstrated in Tengbom's most important buildings - the Church of Högalid (1911-23), the Stockholm Enskilda Bank(1911-15) and the Stockholm Concert Hall (1920-26). These buildings are studied and interpreted in the main chapters of this thesis. Through the interiors of these buildings, large central spaces are co-ordinated with demands of structural clarity and simplicity. This structural approach was drawn from the writings of Viollet-le-Duc.However, Ivar Tengbom also stressed the importance of unity between his buildings and their surroundings. This contextual approach was connected with the works of John Ruskin. The construction sites were also organised in accordance with Ruskin's notion of "Gothic imperfection". Furthermore, Gottfried Semper's notion of "cladding" was present in Tengbom's combination of arts and crafts with modern construction.Finally, Ivar Tengbom's approach to architecture can be summarised as a synthesis of the main streams of 19th century architectural theory. In combining the realist approach to arts and crafts with the architectural principles of the classical tradition, Ivar Tengbom offered a solution to the contemporary demands of representing a modern civilisation, based on historical knowledge and national development.