Förlagstext:
In the west coast port city of Gothenburg,
Sweden, the architect Gunnar Asplund built a modest extension to an old
courthouse on the main square (1934–36). Judged today to be one of the
finest works of modern architecture, the courthouse extension was
immediately the object of a negative newspaper campaign led by one of
the most noted editors of the day, Torgny Segerstedt. Famous for his
determined opposition to National Socialism, he also took a principled
stand against the undermining of urban tradition in Gothenburg.
Gothenburg’s problems with modern public architecture, though clamorous
and publicized throughout Sweden, were by no means unique.
In
Gunnar Asplund’s Gothenburg,
Nicholas Adams places Asplund’s building in the wider context of public
architecture between the wars, setting the originality and sensitivity
of Asplund’s conception against the political and architectural
struggles of the 1930s. Today, looking at the building in the broadest
of contexts, we can appreciate the richness of this exquisite work of
architecture. This book recaptures the complex magic of its creation and
the fascinating controversy of its completed form.
Boktitel: Gunnar Asplund´s Gothenburg. The Transformation of the Public Architecture in Interwar Europe
Författare: Nicholas Adams
Bokförlag: Penn State Press