- Asplund, (Erik) Gunnar
-
born Sept. 22, 1885, Stockholm, Swed.died Oct. 20, 1940, StockholmSwedish architect.His work shows the historically important transition from Neoclassical architecture to Modernism. By 1928, influenced by Le Corbusier, he had turned from a retrospective style to a new vision for architecture. He planned the Stockholm Exposition of 1930, a place of futuristic, glassy pavilions that had a significant influence on subsequent exhibition architecture. His Woodland Crematorium, Stockholm (1935–40), with its spare Neoclassical colonnade surrounded by meadows, is admired by Classicists and Modernists alike.
* * *
▪ Swedish architectborn Sept. 22, 1885, Stockholmdied Oct. 20, 1940, StockholmSwedish architect whose work shows the historically important transition from Neoclassical to modern design.Asplund was educated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. His exposure to classical architecture on a trip to Greece and Italy (1913–14) made a profound impression.Among Asplund's significant early works are the charming Woodland Chapel in the Stockholm South Cemetery (1918–20) and the Stockholm City Library (1924–27), which emphasized geometrical simplicity. He planned the Stockholm Exposition of 1930, for which he designed a number of pavilions and the Paradise Restaurant.Asplund's later work, particularly the Bredenberg Store (1933–35), the State Bacteriological Laboratory in Stockholm (1933–35), and the Göteborg Law Courts extension (1934–37), showed a continuing commitment to modern design. His Woodland Crematorium (1935–40) in Stockholm, a modern masterpiece, makes extensive use of columns that, though starkly modern, convey a feeling of classical dignity and serenity.* * *
Universalium. 2010.