Gunnar Asplund's Law Court Extension, Gothenburg, Sweden (1934-38)

FAIN: FT-53568-05

Nicholas Adams
Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0001)

I am writing a book on the architect Gunnar Asplund's Law Court Extension, Gothenburg, Sweden(1934-38). Marked by a mixture of traditional and modern elements, the building was greeted by howls of disapproval when it was unveiled. My study shows how the building related to programs of the recently-elected Social Democratic government and new notions of law. I trace the building's influence in Europe and ultimately to the United States in works like the interior of the UN Building (1947-53). Finally, I show how in the '70s, in order to break the hold of International Modernism, architects like Michael Graves turned back to Asplund for inspiration. My study places Sweden at the center of a rewritten history of modern architecture.

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