Sverre Fehn (14 August 1924 – 23 February 2009) was a Norwegian architect.

Life

Fehn was born at

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production and fo ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

, Norway. He was the son of John Tryggve Fehn (1894–1981) and Sigrid Johnsen (1895–1985). He received his

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

education at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design 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 ...

. He entered his course of study in 1946 and graduated during 1949. Among other instructors, he studied under Arne Korsmo (1900–1968).Grimes, William: ''Sverre Fehn, 84, Architect of Modern Nordic Forms, Dies''
in

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, February 27, 2009 In 1949, Fehn and architect Geir Grung (1926–1989) won the competition for the Museum Building for the Sandvig Collections at Maihaugen in Lillehammer Municipality. In 1950, Fehn joined PAGON (Progressive Architects Group Oslo, Norway). The group, which was led by Arne Korsmo, had the goal of implementing and promoting modern architecture. In 1952–1953, during travels in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, he discovered

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

, which was to deeply influence his future work. Later he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he worked for two years in the studio of

Jean Prouvé Jean Prouvé (; 8 April 1901 – 23 March 1984) was a French metal worker, self-taught architect and designer. Le Corbusier designated Prouvé a constructeur, blending architecture and engineering. Prouvé's main achievement was transferring m ...

, and where he knew

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

. On his return to Norway in 1954, he opened a studio of his own in Oslo. At the age of 34, Fehn gained international recognition for his design of the Norwegian Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World Exhibition. In the 1960s he produced two works that have remained highlights in his career: the Nordic Pavilion at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

(1962) and the

Hedmark Museum Anno Museum (formerly ''Hedmarks fylkesmuseum'') in Hamar, Norway is a regional museum for the municipalities of Stange, Hamar (which now includes Vang, Hedmark, Vang), Løten, and Ringsaker in central eastern Norway. It includes the medieval Ca ...

in Hamar (1967–79). Other notable works include the Norwegian Glacier Museum at Fjærland (1991-2002) and the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo (2003–08). He was a professor at Oslo's School of Architecture from 1971 to 1995 and principal from 1986–1989. He additionally lectured throughout Europe including at

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. He also lectured in the United States at the

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Academy of Art, a graduate school for architecture, art, and design, was founded by George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth in 1932. It is the art school of the Cranbrook Educational Community. Located in Bloomfield Hills, Mi ...

in Bloomfield Hills,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Projects

Fehn designed over 100 buildings.Swedish Architecture Museum: ''Architect Sverre Fehn''
retrieved 29 December 2011 Some of the most notable are: *1958 – Norwegian Pavilion at the

Brussels World's Fair Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel Plateau, Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bu ...

, Belgium *1962 �
Nordic Pavilion
at the

, Italy *1963 – Villa Schreiner, Oslo *1963-64 – Villa Norrköping, Sweden *1967 – Casa Bødtker House, Oslo *1967-79 – Hamarhus at

Hamar Municipality Hamar Municipality (; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is th ...

, Norway *1990 – Villa Busk,

Bamble Municipality Bamble is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Langesund ...

*1991-2002 – Norwegian Glacier Museum, Fjærland *1993-96 – Aukrust Centre in Alvdal Municipality *2000 – Ivar Aasen-tunet in

Ørsta Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre Districts of Norway, region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Ørsta (v ...

*2007 – Gyldendal House, Oslo *2003-08 – National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo File:Isbremuseet.jpg, Norwegian Glacier Museum in Fjærland File:Aukrustsenteret facade.jpg, Aukrust Centre in Alvdal File:Norwegian National Museum of Architecture 2010.jpg, National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design File:Storhamar barn N.jpg, Storhamar barn at Hedmark File:Økern alders og sykehjem 1.jpg, Økern Nursing Home in Oslo

Awards

In 1961, he was awarded the Houen Foundation Award, jointly with Geir Grung, for the design of the Økern Nursing Home in Oslo. He received the Houen Foundation Award for his design of the Hedmark Museum at Hamar in 1975. In 1994 he was appointed Commander in the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

. In 1998, he was awarded the Norsk kulturråds ærespris. In 2001, Sverre Fehn was awarded the first Grosch medal. In 2003, he was awarded the Anders Jahre Cultural Prize (''Anders Jahres kulturpris''). His highest international honour came in 1997, when he was awarded both the

Pritzker Architecture Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment which has produced consisten ...

and the Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal (''Heinrich-Tessenow-Medaille'').

Personal life

In 1952, he married Ingrid Løvberg Pettersen (1929–2005). Fehn died in his Oslo home at the age of 84. He was survived by his son Guy Fehn and four grandchildren.

References

Other sources

*Olaf Fjeld (2009) ''Sverre Fehn: The Pattern of Thoughts'' (The Monacelli Press) *Gennaro Postiglione; Christian Norberg-Schulz (1997) ''Sverre Fehn'' (The Monacelli Press) *Per-Olaf Fjeld (1983) ''Sverre Fehn on the Thought of Construction'' (Rizzoli International)

External links

Sverre Fehn Arkitekt. Online catalog of works and architecture map guidePresentation of Sverre Fehn's built projects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fehn, Sverre 1924 births 2009 deaths People from Kongsberg Oslo School of Architecture and Design alumni Academic staff of the Oslo School of Architecture and Design Architects from Oslo Cranbrook Academy of Art faculty Pritzker Architecture Prize winners Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal