Sverre Fehn

(b. Kongsberg, Norway 1924)

Sverre Fehn was born in Kongsberg, Norway in 1924. He graduated from the Oslo School of Architecture in 1948 and immediately established a private practice in Oslo. He has been a Professor at the Oslo School of Architecture since 1970.

As a prominent post-war architect, Fehn helped influence the architecture of Norway. Along with several other architects of his generation, he created a new architecture based on the Modern Movement, but expressed with regional forms and materials. This regenerated style helped overcome the pre- and post-war nationalism that had generated a weakened aesthetic. Closely involved with CIAM, Carre Bleu, and Team 10, Fehn is often considered the most gifted practitioner among these groups.

Never dogmatic in his beliefs, Fehn instills a human quality within his buildings that moves beyond the definitive Modern Movement statement. This quality exists in most of his buildings which exhibit great simplicity while also utilizing poetic qualities of light and subtleties of form.

Fehn explored the ideas of Japanese architecture in some deceptively simple timber houses which displayed a great sensitivity to the needs of the client and which all show a freedom from typical house plans. In his more recent works, he has exhibited a bold understanding of form and materials that has allowed him to continue his search for a new architectural language.

References
Muriel Emmanuel. Contemporary Architects. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980. ISBN 0-312-16635-4. NA 680-C625. p245-246.

Details

Recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, 1997.

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Sverre Fehn Pritzker Prize — Several pages of good background information, at the Pritzker Prize site.

Sverre Fehn at Archiplanet — Find, add, and edit info at the all-buildings collaboration

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