Sigurd Lewerentz (29 July 1885 – 29 December 1975) was a Swedish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Biography

Lewerentz was born at Sandö in the parish of Bjärtrå in

Västernorrland County Västernorrland County ( sv, Västernorrlands län) is a county (''län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name ''Västernorrland'' means "Western Norrl ...

, Sweden. He was the son of Gustaf Adolf Lewerentz and Hedvig Mathilda Holmgren. He initially trained as a mechanical engineer at the

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology ( sv, Chalmers tekniska högskola, often shortened to Chalmers) is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international level ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

(1905–8). Later he took up an architectural apprenticeship in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He studied with Westman,

Östberg Östberg is a Swedish topographic surname, which means "east mountain" or "east hill", from the Swedish terms ''öst'' ("east") and ''berg'' ("mountain" or "hill").''Dictionary of American Family Names''"Ostberg Family History" Oxford University Pre ...

and Tengbom. He first opened his own architectural office in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1911 and became associated with the architect

Gunnar Asplund Erik Gunnar Asplund (22 September 1885 – 20 October 1940) was a Swedish architect, mostly known as a key representative of Nordic Classicism of the 1920s, and during the last decade of his life as a major proponent of the modernist style whi ...

(1885–1940). Together they made a winning entry for the Stockholm South (Woodland) Cemetery (''Skogskyrkogården'') competition of 1914–15. This project was implemented initially by both architects, however, the latter stages were done by Asplund alone. He and Asplund were appointed as the main architects for the Stockholm International Exhibition (1930) but afterwards Lewerentz became disillusioned, turning away from architecture for many years; from 1940 he ran a factory producing windows and other architectural fittings of his own design. Between 1933 and 1944 Lewerentz, together with his colleagues Erik Lallerstedt and David Helldén, created what is regarded of one of the masterpieces of functionalist architecture,

Malmö Opera and Music Theatre Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

(''Malmö Opera och Musikteater''). The foyer is considered of particular beauty, with its open surfaces and beautiful marble staircases and it is adorned with a number of works of art by artists such as

Carl Milles Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedish sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the Gustaf Vasa statu ...

and Isaac Grünewald. He was awarded the

Prince Eugen Medal The Prince Eugen Medal ( sv, Prins Eugen-medaljen) is a medal conferred by the King of Sweden for "outstanding artistic achievement". The medal was established in 1945 by the then King of Sweden, Gustaf V, in connection with the eightieth birthd ...

for architecture in 1950. In the last decade of his life he designed two churches, St. Mark's at

Björkhagen Björkhagen (''The Birch Pasture'') is a district ( sv, stadsdel) in Skarpnäck borough Skarpnäck may refer to: * Skarpnäck borough in Stockholm, Sweden *Skarpnäck metro station, a Stockholm metro station * Skarpnäck parish, a Church of Sweden ...

in Stockholm (1956) and St. Peter's at Klippan in

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

(1963–66), which revived his career in architecture. St. Peter's at Klippan sits in a suburban setting on the periphery of this small town in southern Sweden. The orientation of the church is correct, with the altar standing opposite the west doors. It is square in shape, suggesting a more intimate ritual in the tradition of ''circonstantes'' (standing in a circle), which harkens back to early Christianity. This was the religious equivalent of the search for the essential and the primitive, strongly evident in both of Lewerentz's later churches. These characteristics are expressed beautifully in the detailing of the buildings, the choice of materials, the quality of light and the spatial articulation. He continued to work at competition proposals and furniture designs until shortly before his death in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

, Sweden during 1975. His total output was small but of very high quality. In an obituary published in ''

The Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism ...

'', James Codrington praises Lewerentz's buildings for their "daring, often rugged use of materials" and their "indefinable atmosphere" and "sense of place."

References

Bibliography

Books

* Björkquist, Karin and Sébastien Corbari, editors (2021). ''Sigurd Lewerentz, Pure Aesthetics. St Mark’s Church''. Zürich: Park Books AG, 2021. (ISBN 9783038602439) * Foote, Jonathan, Hansjörg Göritz, Matthew Hall and Nathan Matteson, editors (2021). ''Lewerentz Fragments''. Barcelona: ACTAR, 2021. (ISBN 9781638400028) * Long, Kieran, Johan Örn, and Mikael Andersson, editors (2021).
Sigurd Lewerentz. Architect of Death and Life
'. Zürich: Park Books AG, 2021. (ISBN 9783038602323) * Flora, Nicola, Paolo Giardiello and Gennaro Postiglione, editors (2002). ''Sigurd Lewerentz, 1885-1975''. Milan: Electa Architecture, 2002. (ISBN 9781904313052) * Blundell Jones, Peter (2002). ''Modern Architecture through case studies''. Oxford: Architectural Press, 2002. (ISBN 9780750638050) * Constant, Caroline (1994). ''The Woodland Cemetery: Toward a Spiritual Landscape''. Stockholm: Byggförlaget, 1994. (ISBN 9789179880606) * Ahlin, Janne. (1985) ''Sigurd Lewerentz, architect 1885-1975''. Stockholm: Byggförlaget, 1985. (ISBN 9789185194636). Reedited in: Ahlin, Janne. (2014) ''Sigurd Lewerentz, architect 1885-1975''. Zürich: Park Books AG, 2014. (ISBN 9783906027487)

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

* [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02665433.2015.1048524?journalCode=rppe20 Campo-Ruiz, Ingrid (2015). ''Equality in Death: Sigurd Lewerentz and the Planning of Malmö Eastern Cemetery 1916-1973.''] Planning Perspectives 30/4: 639-657 ISSN 1460-1176 DOI: 10.1080/02665433.2015.1048524.
Campo-Ruiz, Ingrid (2015). ''From Tradition to Innovation: Lewerentz’s Designs of Ritual Spaces in Sweden, 1914-1966.''
The Journal of Architecture 20/1 (2015): 73-91. . DOI:10.1080/13602365.2015.1009483.
Campo-Ruiz, Ingrid (2015). ''Malmö Eastern Cemetery and Lewerentz’s Critical Approach to Monumentality.''
Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes 35/4 (2015):328-344. ISSN 1460-1176. DOI: 10.1080/14601176.2015.1079422.
Campo-Ruiz, Ingrid (2015). ''Construction as a Prototype: the Novel Approach by Sigurd Lewerentz to Using Building Materials, Especially in Walls and Windows, 1920-72.''
Construction History 30 Nov (2015): 67-86. ISSN 0267-7768.
Campo-Ruiz, Ingrid (2013). ''Less or More? The Construction of Lewerentz’s Kiosk in the Malmö Cemetery.''
Progreso, Proyecto, Arquitectura 8 (2013): 132-147. ISSN 2171-6897. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/ppa.2013.i8.09 * Hart, Vaughan (1996). ‘Sigurd Lewerentz and the ‘Half-Open Door’’, ''Architectural History: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain'', vol.36, pp.181-196.

Doctoral Theses

Campo Ruiz, Ingrid. Lewerentz in Malmo: Intersections between Architecture and Landscape. (2015). Doctoral Thesis, Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Fernández Elorza, Héctor. Asplund versus Lewerentz. (2014). Doctoral Thesis, Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Ridderstedt, Lars. (1998). Adversus populum: Peter Celsings och Sigurd Lewerentz sakralarkitektur 1945-1975 : (the religious architecture of Peter Celsing and Sigurd Lewerentz 1945-1975). Uppsala: Uppsala University, 1998.

Exhibitions

''Sigurd Lewerentz. Architect of Death and Life''. 1 October 2021 - 28 August 2022, ArkDes, Stockholm
* Sigurd Lewerentz, 1885 - 1975. Stockholm: Arkitektuurmuseet, 1985.

External links

Sigurd Lewerentz Arkitekt. Online catalog of works and architecture map guide