WEEK 3 - Researches related to Architecture ( Sigurd Lewerentz)

Sigurd lewerentz - Mechanical engineer and Architect - 1885 to 1975

Sigurd's life

• Born in Bjärtrå, northern Sweden, in 1885, Lewerentz. Initially, he qualified as an mechanical engineer (ArkDes, About Sigurd Lewerentz) and some time after, he has done an architectural apprenticeship in Berlin and Munich and became an mechanical engineer and architect.

• Later after this, he opened his first and own fim in 1911. Lewerentz finally became known in the world of Swedish architecture or the first time by winning an international competition for the Woodland Cemetery with one of his classmates (Collage and architecture, Shields and Jennifer A. E., Routledge, 2014, P.229) at the age of 28.

Architectural Movement

• Lewerentz was a craftsman who used to work with modernist architecture having a humanistic approach and focusing on craftmanship and attention to detail.

• The shape, the material and the fabrication used to be the same with an simple, stripped down and raw architecture (uia, Lewerentz and the three in lund; building for everybody-learning from the past).

Method of work

• Lewerentz always had a careful approach to detail and sticked to his intentions to conserve the original state of the environment where he has to work (Construction as a prototype: the novel approach by Sigurd Lewerentz to using building materials, especially for walls and windows, The Construction History Society, Vol. 30, No. 2,2015, P72)

• He was also thinking about the use of materials, their superposition and their prominence (Construction as a prototype: the novel approach by Sigurd Lewerentz to using building materials, especially for walls and windows, The Construction History Society, Vol. 30, No. 2,2015, P78)

• Peter Bundell Jones quote "From the beginning of his career, he was interested in irregularity and conflicting orders rather that in the calm finality sought by Mies. And far from purifying a building’s appearance by erasing every mark left by the hand, Lewerentz asked his workers to refrain from tidying up, making the marks of the process more obvious." (Peter Bundell Jones, Sigurd Lewerentz: Church of St Peter, Klippan, 1963–66, Cambridge University Press, 2002).

Projects

• Church of st peter, Klippan, 1966

Church of St Peter, Sigurd Lewerentz, 1966

• St Peter’s was Lewerentz’s last major work, begun when he was 78 years old, and carried through with great fastidiousness and constant site-supervision. The church concerned 2 buildings and was constructed from 1962 to 1966.

• The bricks are the main composition of this church since they constitute the floor and the walls (Natasha Levy, The life lesson of Swedish modernist architect, Wallpaper, Future Publishing Limited Quay House, 2022). That's why Adam Caruso states that "The presence of brick subsumes detail and becomes an enveloping surface on which we walk, which covers us, which surrounds us. [...] The rigorous brick tectonic is applied throughout St Peter’s, in the sanctuary and in the smallest office" (Adam Caruso, Sigurd Lewerentz and a Material Basis for Form, 1997)

• St. Peter's Church achieved an exceptional level of design that defied conventional construction standards, reimagined the layout of religious spaces, crafted unique and richly expressive environments, and established a distinct architectural language. (Benjamin Wells, Danish Architecture Center).

• The National Insurance Institute, Norrmalm, 1932

The National Insurance Institute, Sigurd Lewerentz ,1932

• Lewerentz find inspiration for this work in Germany, where he travelled many times. The building's façade is grey and made with smooth plaster and deep square windows.

• Designed between 1920 and 1930, this building was a rectangular office with an oval courtyard in the canter that conduct light and air throughout the office plan with the help of longer and arranged windows in horizontal bands. In the building, the space was designed by his own custom-designed products from a company he co-founded. (Natasha Levy, The life lesson of Swedish modernist architect, Wallpaper, Future Publishing Limited Quay House, 2022).

• Magnus Elebäck said "As with all pieces of architecture, the building for the National Insurance Institute needs to be experienced from the inside. The exterior does not reveal much at all with its strict façade. It's first when you enter the courtyard the magic happens." (Magnus Elebäck, Massproductions)

Reflection

I really Like Sigurd Lewerentz as an architect because he has an interesting approach of the creation of buildings. His method of work is really interesting an can be taken as an example. However I am a little bit sceptical with regard to the Saint Peter's Church. I feel like it could be more diversified in terms of materials instead of repeating the same material over all the church. Apart from that I really admire the fact that he doesn't even try to bring some modifications to the environment where he works, which can be really challenging for an architect.

References

1. https://arkdes.se/en/sigurd-lewerentz-death-life-architect-book/biography/

2. Collage and architecture, Shields and Jennifer A. E., Routledge, 2014

3. https://dac.dk/en/knowledgebase/architecture/church-of-saint-peter/

4. https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/modernist-architect-sigurd-lewerentz-profile-sweden

5. https://uia2023cph.org/fr/tours/lewerentz-and-the-three-in-lund-buildings-for-everybody-learning-from-the-past/

6. Construction as a prototype: the novel approach by Sigurd Lewerentz to using building materials, especially for walls and windows, The Construction History Society, Vol. 30, No. 2,2015

7. Peter Bundell Jones, Sigurd Lewerentz: Church of St Peter, Klippan, 1963–66, Cambridge University Press, 2002

8. Adam Caruso, Sigurd Lewerentz and a Material Basis for Form, 1997

9. https://massproductions.se/journal/when-waiter-met-sigurd-lewerentz/