Frithjof Stoud "F. S." Platou (21 August 1903 – 12 August 1980) was a Norwegian architect. He worked for the international architects

Lars Backer Lars Thalian Backer (5 January 1892 – 7 June 1930) was a Norwegian architect. Backer was a pioneer of modernism in Norwegian architecture during the 1920s. Biography Backer was born in Oslo, Norway. His parents were Herman Major Backer (1 ...

and

Erich Mendelsohn Erich Mendelsohn (); 21 March 1887 – 15 September 1953) was a German-British architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinem ...

before he established his own architectural firm in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. Among his most famous works are the

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

and the

Kon-Tiki Museum The Kon-Tiki Museum () is a museum in the Bygdøy peninsula in Oslo, Norway. It houses vessels and maps from the '' Kon-Tiki'' expedition, as well as a library with about 8,000 books. It was opened in a provisional building in 1949. In 1957, th ...

, both in Oslo.

Personal life

Platou was born in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

to banker Gabriel Andreas Stoud Platou (1858–1911) and his wife, Ingeborg Sophie Falck (1864–1958). His only brother was Ragnar Stoud Platou, who later became a ship broker. Platou was nephew of Christian Emil and Waldemar Stoud Platou, and cousin of

Karen Platou Karen Platou (9 July 1879 – 10 June 1950) was a Norway, Norwegian businesswoman and a politician for the Conservative Party of Norway, Conservative Party. Platou was the country's first woman to be elected Member of Storting, Parliament. Sh ...

. In 1931, Platou married Aagot Jeanette Robsahm (1907–1956), a daughter of wholesaler Andreas Robsahm (1878–1949) and his wife, Aagot Manskow (1883–1970). Platou and Robsahm remained married until her death in 1956.

Career

In 1921, he took an

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in Hamar. He thereupon travelled to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

where he studied architecture at

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

from 1922 to 1926. He also studied economics in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1925.

thereafter employed him as assistant in Oslo. In 1929–30, Platou was employed by

. In 1930, Platou started his own

architectural firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countr ...

, which he named after himself. The Norwegian architects

Otto Torgersen Otto Torgersen (16 June 1910 – 12 December 2000) was a Norwegian architect and advertising executive. Torgersen was born in Trondheim, Norway. He studied advertising and architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London (1937–38). In 1947, he ...

and Bernt Heiberg worked in his firm, which designed various functionalist buildings in Oslo. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the office was expanded with more architects, who designed many banking centers and enterprise buildings in Oslo. They also designed the

Bygdøy Bygdøy or Bygdø is a peninsula situated on the western side of Oslo, Norway. Administratively, Bygdøy is part of the borough of Frogner. It historically was part of Aker Municipality and became part of Oslo in 1948. Bygdøy is a popular recr ...

and the headquarters of the

Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities () is an employers' organisation in Norway. It was founded in 1972 as a merger between the Union of Norwegian Cities (''Norges Byforbund'', founded in 1903) and the Norwegian Associati ...

Vika Vika may refer to: __NOTOC__ Persons * Short form of Victoria (and variants) in Eastern Europe * Vika Bull, one of an Australian vocal duo of sisters, Vika and Linda * Vika Jigulina (born 1986), Romanian musician * Vika Lusibaea (born 1964), Solo ...

in the Oslo

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

. After a fire in 1957, Platou designed a new building for the Grand Hotel in Oslo the following year. In 1971, his architectural firm was converted into a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

. For many years, the firm performed major assignments abroad. Platou was co-founder of the engineering, architecture and design firm Norconsult, and headed the company from 1963 to 1968. He also had honoraries in some other architectural organisations in Norway. He died on 12 August 1980.

Personal life

Career

References

Further reading