Harald Aars (31 May 1875 – 4 June 1945) was a Norwegian architect.

Personal life

He was born in Christiania as a son of educator

Jacob Jonathan Aars Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...

(1837–1908) and his wife Anna Ernesta Birch-Reichenwald (1838–1919). He was the brother of academic Kristian Aars, a grandson of

Christian Birch-Reichenwald Christian Birch-Reichenwald (4 January 1814 – 8 July 1891) was a Norwegian jurist and politician who served as mayor of Oslo, Norway. He was born at Blaker in Akershus, Norway. He was the son of to Paul Hansen Birch and Anna Catharina Hoff ...

and a great-grandson of

Peter Motzfeldt Peter Motzfeldt (3 August 1777 – 1 April 1854) was a Norwegian Military Officer and Government Minister. He served as a member of the Constitutional Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. Background Motzfeldt was born at Orkdal in Sør-Trøndelag, Nor ...

. He was also a grandnephew of priest and politician

Jens Aars Jens Aars (1 October 1779 – 27 March 1834) was a Norwegian priest and Member of Parliament. Jens Aars was born in Christiania (now Oslo, Norway). He was the son of district stipendiary magistrate Jacob Aars (1736–1807), who had migrated t ...

and a second cousin of writer

Sophus Christian Munk Aars Sophus Christian Munk Aars (1 October 1841 – 11 April 1931) was a Norwegian civil servant and writer. He was a son of priest and politician Nils Fredrik Julius Aars (1807–1865) and his wife Sofie Elisabeth Stabel. He was a grandson of priest ...

. In 1899 he married Anna Dybwad Berentzen (1878–1947), a maternal granddaughter of

Jacob Dybwad Jacob Dybwad (20 July 1823 – 4 September 1899) was a Norwegian bookseller and publisher as well as a pioneer in the publishing trade. Dybwad was one of the founders of the publishing company and bookstore Jacob Dybwad A/S, which was in opera ...

Career

Aars finished middle school in 1890, and worked one year at Thunes Mekaniske Værksted before enrolling at construction engineering at

Kristiania Technical School Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality o ...

. He graduated in 1895, and studied architecture at the

Royal College of Arts The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It off ...

from 1897 to 1898. During this period he picked up inspiration from

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and K ...

C. R. Ashbee Charles Robert Ashbee (17 May 1863 – 23 May 1942) was an English architect and designer who was a prime mover of the Arts and Crafts movement, which took its craft ethic from the works of John Ruskin and its co-operative structure from the soci ...

, the

Art Workers Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of a ...

and the Arts and Crafts Movement. He later stayed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1901 to 1902, and also had stays in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. In Norway he was an assistant of

Holger Sinding-Larsen Peter Andreas Holger Sinding-Larsen (5 July 1869 – 12 December 1938) was a Norwegian architect. He is most associated with his work at Akershus Fortress, where he was a member of the restoration committee and architect from 1905 to 19 ...

from 1899 to 1901 and for the city architect of Kristiania from 1902 to 1904. From 1904 to 1919 he had his own architect's office. He worked with

Harald Hals Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 970) * Harald Hardrad ...

Lorentz Harboe Ree Lorentz Harboe Ree (12 March 1888– 8 March 1962) was a Norwegian architect. Ree was born at Stange in Hedmark, Norway. He graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1915. He first worked as an architectural assistant in Bergen (19 ...

, especially from 1915. Most of his buildings were raised in the districts of

Frogner Frogner is a residential and retail borough in the West End of Oslo, Norway, with a population of 59,269 as of 2020. In addition to the original Frogner, the borough incorporates Bygdøy, Uranienborg and Majorstuen. The borough is named after ...

St. Hanshaugen St. Hanshaugen (Norwegian for St. John's Hill) is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. Area It has a triangular shape, with its northern border just north of the buildings of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and Ullevål University Hos ...

and

Bislett

Bislett is a ne ...

. A common style, especially around 1920, was the "Nordic neo-baroque". From 1920 to 1940 he was the city architect of Kristiania/Oslo. In this position he was especially responsible for construction of schools. He had been a member of the school board from 1909 to 1911 and of the city council executive committee from 1911 to 1916. He presided over the

National Association of Norwegian Architects The Association of Norwegian Architects ( no, italic=no, Norske arkitekters landsforbund, NAL) is a country-wide Norwegian organization for graduate architects. Established in 1911, as of 2015 the organization had some 4,100 members. In addition to ...

from 1918 to 1919 and ''

Selskabet for Oslo Byes Vel Selskabet for Oslo Byes Vel ( en, Society for the Welfare of Oslo), often known as Oslo Byes Vel, is a non-profit heritage association for the benefit of Oslo, Norway's capital city. It was established in 1811 by Niels Wulfsberg. History Niels Wul ...

'' from 1927 to 1937. He was a co-editor of ''

Teknisk Ukeblad ''Teknisk Ukeblad'' (''TU'', en, Technical Weekly Magazine) is a Norwegian engineering magazine. The magazine has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway. History and profile ''TU'' has appeared weekly since 13 April 1883 and was published by Ingeniørf ...

'' from 1907 to 1912, and introduced an architecture section in the magazine. He also edited architectural magazines, and wrote the chapter ''Arkitekturen i det 19. og 20. aarhundrede'' in the second volume of ''Norges Kunsthistorie'', released 1927. Aars was decorated as a Commander of the Swedish

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

and a Knight of the Swedish

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

and the Finnish

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. T ...

. He died in June 1945 in Oslo.

Selected works

* Lovisenberg kirke (1911–12) * Ungkarspensjonat, Rjukan (1913) * Fagerborg skole (1916) * St. Hanshaug Terrasse (1916) * Bislet Baths (1920) * Vestre Frikirke (1920) * Utvidelse av Sagene skole (1922–26) * Hersleb skole, with L.H. Ree (1922–24) * Sagene brannstasjon (1931) * Elvebakken videregående skole (1937–38)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aars, Harald 1875 births 1945 deaths Architects from Oslo Oslo University College alumni Alumni of the Royal College of Art Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Commanders of the Order of Vasa