Gunnar Asplund / Phaidon

Erik Gunnar Asplund (1885-1940) produced buildings of extraordinary grace and poetry in his native Sweden. Among his best known works are the pavilions at the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition, the Stockholm Library (1928) and the Woodland Chapel (1920). This book celebrates the life and work of Asplund, a contemporary of Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, who was recognized for his unique blend of Classical, Modernist and Vernacular architecture. Asplund's achievements are amply demonstrated through masterpieces that lasted throughout his career, such as the Gothenburg Law Courts (1913-1937) and the Enskede Cemetery (1915-1940), a collaboration with Sigurd Lewerentz. As a result of detailed and specialist research, each project is examined through a comprehensive survey of original and archival drawings from Asplund's office, offering a comprehensive and authoritative guide to his oeuvre. In addition to major buildings, smaller built and unbuilt projects are also explored, such as the architect's own summer house at Stennäs (1938) and the crematoria at Kviberg and Skövde (1940). Peter Blundell Jones' study provides an expert overview of Asplund and his legacy of Scandinavian Modernism. Generously illustrated throughout with key plans, sketches, archival drawings and unseen special photography, this book presents a unique and essential evaluation of Asplund for anyone interested in the subject of architecture during the first half of the twentieth century.