2011-12-08

Symbol maker

Architect Ragnar Östberg looks out over the horizon in 1934. Maybe he's contemplating his biggest contribution to Stockholm's skyline and in that, he's hardly alone. Everyone from Nobel laureates to Stockholm residents have spent the last 90 years admiring the more than 100-metre tall City Hall.
    Ann Katrin Pihl Atmer's volume Stockholms stadshus och arkitekten Ragnar Östberg traces the planning and construction of one of Stockholm's most prominent symbols.
    It was a terrifying proposition for the author to write about something as symbolic as city hall. “But the further I came along in the project the more that feeling let up. Later it was like it became my building. You develop a special relationship to the project,” Atmer explains.
    Her original motivation to write the book stemmed from scepticism about the mix of styles in the City Hall and the architect's sometimes questionable choices. But the more she worked, the more Atmer came to like the city hall.
“My contention gradually transformed to admiration. He was very determined and possessed a strong artistic drive.”

Tips: Don't miss the exhibtion Stockholm City Hall at the Swedish Museum of Architecture.