Sverre Fehn Architecture

The book

The book is a monographic collection of 80 of Fehn’s built and unbuilt projects, presented from the ’inside of his architecture’, where we highlighted his spatial, poetic, artistic, and technical approach. Yet, it is much more than a monograph, the intention we had was to create new insights into his rebellious world of surprising architectural ideas and strategies developed throughout his lifelong practice.

The allure of imagining the physical and experiential qualities of his buildings is cultivated through new, precise drawings and photographs, made by us, authors and editors. Despite the ’silent language’ of the book, the presentation is revealing the full strength of Fehn’s projects, their extensive network of relationships—architectonic, cultural, and social—as well as the richness and poetry of his architecture.

The book includes inspiring short essays by internationally practicing architects: Wilfried Wang, Kersten Geers, Go Hasegawa, Tony Fretton, Carl Viggo Hølmebakk, Jonathan Sergison, Wang-Shu, Emanuel Christ, Marc Lee, Mari Hvattum, and idea-historian Rune Slagstad.

Archive material is provided by the Norwegian National Museum and the Norwegian Technical Museum, with new photographs taken by contemporary architecture and art photographer Stefano Graziani.

With your help, the book will be published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Franz and Walther König, one of the most respected publishing houses and bookstore chains for art and architecture internationally.

ISBN – 10 3753306061

ISBN – 13 978-3753306063

What makes the book special

Our intention is to create an immediate experience and understanding of the complex qualities of Fehn’s architecture and its spaces. Each project is presented with new and archive drawings, alongside black-and-white iconic images by Teigens Atelier, engaged in a dialogue with the colour photography of Fehn’s architecture by Stefano Graziani.

Fehn’s concise narratives about each project explain the wealth of his ideas about making architecture. The clear visual language designed by graphic designer Joris Kritis greatly enhances the elegant and uncompromising clarity of Fehn’s work.

The richness of this book develops from a very close relationship between us, authors and editors, and the work of Sverre Fehn. For many years we were learning from him by assisting his teaching at the Oslo School of Architecture, closely working with the archives of his projects, travelling to experience the spaces he constructed, photographing them and finally, by precisely redrawing all the projects, both built and unbuilt.

We need your support!

’Sverre Fehn Architecture’ is an ambitious, yet demanding, book project. We, the authors and editors, are extremely grateful for the generous support of the Graham Foundation, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther and Franz König, the Norwegian National Museum, the Norwegian Technical Museum, Bjørn Smith-Simonsen, Stiftelsen Fritt Ord, Norsk Faglitterær- og Oversettelsesforening, and The Oslo School of Architecture. Thanks to their help, part of the funding for the book has already been secured.

The project is now in its final phase of production. To ensure high-quality printing and timely publication by November 2025, we need your support.

For a detailed preview of what we offer to you, please visit the Issuu link in ’Further information’.