United Nations Economic and Social Council

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

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

architect. 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, the western part of Stockholm Municipality, Sweden. It is notable for being one of the first modern planned suburbs in Sweden. Vällingby was inaugurated in 1954 as part of Stockholm's post-war ...

(1950s) and

Farsta Farsta is a district in the borough with the same name in the southern part of Stockholm Municipality, Sweden. Farsta is located about eight kilometers south of Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban ar ...

(1960s).

Biography

Born in Stockholm, he attended the

Royal Institute of Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology (), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest technical university. Since 2018, KTH consist ...

and the

Academy of Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

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

Erik Lallerstedt The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

. 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 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 Alva Myrdal ( , ; née Reimer; 31 January 1902 – 1 February 1986) was a Swedish sociologist, diplomat and politician. She was a prominent leader of the disarmament movement. She, along with Alfonso García Robles, received the Nobel Peace ...

(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 The Narkomfin Building is a block of flats at 25, Novinsky Boulevard, in the Moscow Central constituency, Central district of Moscow, Russia. Conceived as a "transitional type of experimental house", it is a renowned example of Constructivist arc ...

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 Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

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 at 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 of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Towards the end of his career the architect turned his attention to city planning. In 1949 Markelius took the Howland Memorial Prize, and in 1961 the Prince Eugen Medal. In 1962 Markelius was awarded a

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

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, Stockholm, with

Uno Åhrén Uno Åhrén (6 August 1897 – 8 October 1977) was a Swedish architect and city planner, and a leading proponent of functionalism in Sweden. Biography Uno Emrik Åhrén was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He graduated as an architect at the KTH R ...

* 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 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

* 1945 and onward - city planning for the

Redevelopment of Norrmalm The redevelopment of Norrmalm (; ) 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 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. ...

, Stockholm * 1952 -

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

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 language, 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 ...

* 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