United Nations Economic and Social Council

Sven Gottfrid Markelius (25 October 1889 – 24 February 1972) was a Swedish

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. Markelius played an important role in the post-war urban planning of Stockholm, for example in the creation of the model suburbs of

Vällingby Vällingby () is a suburban district in Västerort in the western part of Stockholm Municipality, Sweden. History The agricultural land where the modern suburb now stands, has a history stretching some 2,000 years back (i.e. at least twic ...

(1950s) and

Farsta Farsta is a district in the borough with the same name in southern Stockholm. Farsta is located about eight kilometers south of Stockholm city. The district neighbours to Hökarängen, Sköndal, Larsboda, Farsta Strand and Fagersjö. It is a ...

(1960s).

Biography

Born in Stockholm, he attended the

Royal Institute of Technology The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technol ...

and the

Academy of Arts An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

in Stockholm from 1910 to 1915, later working at the offices of

Ragnar Östberg Ragnar Östberg (14 July 1866 – 5 February 1945) was a Swedish architect who is best known for designing Stockholm City Hall. Biography Östberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were Carl Östberg and Erika Kindahl. Between 1884 a ...

and Erik Lallerstedt. He developed an early interest in housing and planning, was one of the founder members of CIAM in 1928, and participated in the modernist housing section of the

Stockholm International Exhibition (1930) The Stockholm Exhibition (in Swedish, ''Stockholmsutställningen'') was an exhibition held in 1930 in Stockholm, Sweden, that had a great impact on the architectural styles known as Functionalism and International Style. The fair was conducte ...

, the birth of Swedish Functionalism. In 1931, he co-authored the book-length manifesto ''" acceptera"'', promoting modernism as a set of cultural values. His association with Swedish reformer Alva Myrdal (1902–1986) resulted in a design for a 57-unit communal-living Collective House in the center of Stockholm, in 1935. The building offered communal amenities like childcare facilities and shared kitchen and meeting spaces, all at least partly inspired by the Narkomfin Building in Moscow. Markelius lived in the Collective House himself for thirty years, serving as an unofficial handyman, to make sure the building still worked, and to demonstrate his commitment to the values of social housing. Meanwhile, among his major civic projects, Markelius began work on the Concert Hall in

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edit ...

in 1932. In 1952, Markelius was nominated to the board of design consultants for the

United Nations Secretariat Building The United Nations Secretariat Building is a skyscraper within the headquarters of the United Nations in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It contains the offices of the United Nations Secretariat, the executive organ ...

by Sweden. Towards the end of his career the architect turned his attention to city planning. In 1949 Markelius took the

Howland Memorial Prize The Henry Howland Memorial Prize at Yale was created in 1915 for a "citizen of any country in recognition of some achievement of marked distinction in the field of literature or fine arts or the science of government." The idealistic quality of the ...

, and in 1961 the

Prince Eugen Medal The Prince Eugen Medal ( sv, Prins Eugen-medaljen) is a medal conferred by the King of Sweden for "outstanding artistic achievement". The medal was established in 1945 by the then King of Sweden, Gustaf V, in connection with the eightieth birthd ...

. In 1962 Markelius was awarded a Gold Medal by the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

Significant buildings

* 1931 -

Student Union at the Royal Institute of Technology The Student Union at the Royal Institute of Technology (''Tekniska Högskolans Studentkår'' or THS) is the students' union at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. It is affiliated with the Stockholm Federation of Student Unio ...

, Stockholm, with Uno Åhrén * 1932 - Helsingborg Concert Hall (completed 1934) * 1933 - Villa Markelius, his own home in Stockholm * 1935 - Stockholm Collective House * 1937 - Villa Myrdal * 1939 - Swedish pavilion at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Pur ...

* 1945 and onward - city planning for the

Redevelopment of Norrmalm The redevelopment of Norrmalm ( sv, Norrmalmsregleringen; ) was a major revision of the city plan for lower Norrmalm district in Stockholm, Sweden, which was principally decided by the Stockholm town council in 1945, and realised during the 1 ...

, Stockholm * 1952 -

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

interior, at the

, a gift to the United Nations from Sweden * 1953 - original city plan for

* 1961-1966 - Sverigehuset ''Sweden House'' at

Kungsträdgården Kungsträdgården (Swedish for "King's Garden") is a park in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is colloquially known as ''Kungsan''. The park's central location and its outdoor cafés makes it one of the most popular hangouts and meeting pla ...

* 1962 - one of the five glass Hötorget buildings, Stockholm

Images

File:Villa Markelius 2008a.jpg, Villa Markelius 1933 Image:Hochhaus drei Markelius.jpg, Hötorget #3 Image:Villa Myrdal 1937c.jpg, Villa Myrdal, 1937 Image:Helsingborgs konserthus entre.jpg, Helsingborg Concert House, 1932

References

Other sources

*Eva Rudberg (1989) ''Sven Markelius, arkitekt'' (Arkitektur förlag)

External links