Svensk arkitektur: Ritningar 1640–1970 (Swedish Architecture: Drawings 1640–1970) gives a comprehensive, richly illustrated outlook to the Swedish history of architects and architectural presentation. The drawings have been gathered from the Swedish Museum of Architecture as well as from multiple archive sources such as National Archives, the War Archives, the National Museum, the Royal Library, and the Royal Palace. The texts are both in Swedish and in English.
The book presents 90 Swedish architects and examples of their projects in a chronological order, so the selection illustrates the development of professional architectural drawing and their aesthetic ideals. The contents are organised around the architects per the epoch: The Middle Ages, The Vasa Epoch, The Era of Greatness, The Eighteenth Century, The Nineteenth Century, Art Nouveau and National Romanticism, and The Architecture of Welfare. The showcased architects and projects include historic figures such as Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz’s (1716–1796) Chinese Pavilion and the Royal Opera House up until Sigurd Lewerentz‘s Woodland Cemetery Chapel and St Peter’s Church at Klippan and Peter Celsing‘s Härlanda Church and the Bank of Sweden. The book also contains an informative essay about the general developments in Swedish architecture from the Middle Ages to the 1980s. The presentations include a short introduction to the architect’s career, a sample of the project drawings and some black and white photographs of the finished building.
The book is in good condition. There is some yellowing on the edges of the pages, and the dust jacket shows some minor signs of wear. The previous owner has added his signature on the front flyleaf.