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Recovering the Historical Construction and Materials of Erik Gunnar Asplund’s Stockholm Public Library
ETH Zurich, University of Cambridge UK.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9504-6578
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Architecture. ETH Zurich.
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Architecture. ETH Zurich.
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Architecture.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2783-9976
2024 (English)In: Docomomo Journal, E-ISSN 2773-1634, Vol. 2024, no 71, p. 13-23Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This work presents the first detailed study of the construction and materials of the Stockholm Public Library. As the building undergoes a rare period of maintenance and renovation, the floors and walls of the library are examined from three perspectives. First, using available but limited archival documents and plans; second, with non-destructive ground-penetrating radar measurements; and finally, through on-site surveys during local interventions for the maintenance and renovation process. The ensuing results emphasize the complementary nature of this combined research approach in recovering lost or forgotten construction details and further reveal several important findings. In the case of the unique wall finishing of the library’s rotunda, multiple layers of lime mortar, each varying in thickness and coarseness, were used to build up and craft the relief-like interior wall surface. With the use of in-situ aerated concrete and prefabricated Solomite panels in the library’s 1931–32 floor construction, a material connection between Asplund and the broader modern movement in architecture is further highlighted. At first glance, these construction-related findings seem to reinforce the common architectural narrative of the library as a transitional project between neoclassicism and modernism. At the same time, however, the library’s separate periods of construction of 1925–28 and 1931–32 and their distinct materials can be seen as a continuity of construction culture, with the innovative use of local raw materials related to the Swedish landscape.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Delft: Docomomo International , 2024. Vol. 2024, no 71, p. 13-23
Keywords [en]
Architecture, Asplund, Ground-penetrating radar, Heritage, Renovation
National Category
Architecture Building Technologies
Research subject
Architecture, History and Theory of Architecture
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-350968DOI: 10.52200/docomomo.71.03Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85198349968OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-350968DiVA, id: diva2:1885643
Projects
This research was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation through an Ambizione Research Grant (Project 193356)
Funder
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, P2007-0040:1-E
Note

QC 20240724

Available from: 2024-07-24 Created: 2024-07-24 Last updated: 2025-02-24Bibliographically approved

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Mill, PetronellaRovira Torres, MarceloBergström, Anders

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