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Sverre
Fehn: The Pattern of Thoughts by Per Olaf Fjeld
Monacelli, 2009
Hardcover, 304 pages
Many architectural monographs feature
an introduction or an essay by somebody of note, with the
architect in particular providing the text for the bulk
of the book. These descriptions of buildings and unbuilt
projects may yield some insight, but many times they lack
a critical voice or a view that only comes from a detachment
from the work. Interpretation is an important aspect of
any piece of architecture, be it in person or on a page.
So it is refreshing to read Per Olaf Fjeld's second book
on Pritzker
Prize-winning architect Sverre Fehn. Having worked for
and taught with Fehn for many years, Fjeld is in a good
position to understand the architect and his buildings,
while also illuminating the thinking and methods of the
man who passed away earlier this year at the age of 84.
With Fjeld's close association with
Fehn, the monograph reads like a biography but also an investigation
of the architect's mind-set, hence the book's title. Each
chapter approaches different themes within Fehn's working
and teaching methods, all within a basically chronological
ordering. The third chapter, for example, looks at his well-known
pavilions in Brussels and Venice (the latter still stands
and is a popular archi-tourist
destination) and the fame that accompanied these commissions,
but during the "twenty-year pit stop" presented
four chapters later we see how teaching occupied his life
and influenced the designs that followed the dry spell in
his office. The later chapter, and much of the book, includes
numerous Fehn quotes are carefully woven within Fjeld's
writing, both at the level of the text and the page layout.
The most consistent themes throughout
the monograph deal with nature, (constructed) landscape
and culture, as the architect attempts to reconcile the
three within an architecture that is rooted in its Nordic
context yet fits within the modernist canon. The careful
balance of local and universal ideas with the natural and
the manmade led to sometimes striking designs that fit remarkably
well in their place, in many cases untouched landscapes
far from urban situations. Fehn was a master in the way
his buildings meet the earth and touch the sky. The power
of this book is how the author's and architect's words illuminate
this skill without abolishing the mystery or mystique of
Fehn's buildings and personality.
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