Frithjof Stoud Platou (21 August 1903 – 12 August 1980) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

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 ...

and

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

before he established his own architectural firm in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

. Among his most famous works are the Grand Hotel and the

Kon-Tiki Museum The Kon-Tiki Museum ( no, Kon-Tiki Museet) 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 buildin ...

, both in Oslo.

Personal life

Platou was born in

Hamar Hamar is a town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the traditional region of Hedmarken. The town is located on the shores of Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake ...

to the banker

Gabriel Andreas Stoud Platou Gabriel Andreas Stoud Platou (1858 – 6 June 1911) was a Norwegian banker and politician for the Conservative Party. Personal life He was as a son of banker Christian Fredrik Stoud Platou (1824–1883), brother of Christian Emil Stoud Platou and ...

(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 Waldemar Stoud Platou (11 August 1868 – 13 July 1930) was a Norwegian businessperson. He had a long career in the brewery industry. Personal life He was born in Furnes as the son of banker Christian Fredrik Stoud Platou (1824–1883) and Elis ...

, and cousin of

Karen Platou Karen Platou (9 July 1879 – 10 June 1950) was a Norwegian businesswoman and a politician for the Conservative Party. Platou was the country's first woman to be elected Member of Parliament. She was born in Mandal, Vest-Agder, the daughter ...

. In 1931, Platou married Aagot Jeanette Robsahm (1907–56), a daughter of wholesaler Andreas Robsahm (1878–1949) and his wife Aagot Manskow (1883–1970).

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 where he studied architecture at

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

from 1922 to 1926. He also studied economics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 belongs to the borough of Frogner; historically Bygdøy was part of Aker Municipality and became part of Oslo in 1948. Bygdøy is a popul ...

and the headquarters of the

Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities ( no, KS) 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 A ...

Vika Vika may refer to: __NOTOC__ Persons * often a short form of Victoria (and variants) in Eastern Europe * Vika Lusibaea (born 1964), Solomon Islands politician * Hilda Vīka (1897–1963), Latvian artist and writer * Ludo Vika (born 1955), Dominic ...

in the Oslo

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

. 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 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 company limited by ...

. 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