Sverre Fehn

Sverre Fehn studied at Oslo School of Architecture and Design. The recorded working language is Norwegian and Danish. Places of work recorded in the authority are Oslo. Employment is recorded with Oslo School of Architecture and Design. Works named in the authority record are Norwegian Glacier Museum. Work by Sverre Fehn is recorded in the collections of Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design. Distinctions recorded are Pritzker Architecture Prize, Prince Eugen Medal, Jacob Prize and Arts Council Norway Honorary Award.

Fehn was born at Kongsberg in Buskerud, Norway. He was the son of John Tryggve Fehn (1894–1981) and Sigrid Johnsen (1895–1985). He received his architectural education at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design in Oslo. He entered his course of study in 1946 and graduated during 1949. Among other instructors, he studied under Arne Korsmo (1900–1968). 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, he discovered vernacular architecture, which was to deeply influence his future work. Later he moved to Paris, where he worked for two years in the studio of Jean Prouvé, and where he knew Le Corbusier. 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 (1962) and the Hedmark Museum 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 Paris, Stuttgart and Barcelona. He also lectured in the United States at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Cooper Union in New York City and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.

Fehn designed over 100 buildings. Some of the most notable are: 1958 – Norwegian Pavilion at the Brussels World's Fair, Belgium 1962 – Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Italy 1963 – Villa Schreiner, Oslo 1963-64 – Villa Norrköping, Sweden 1967 – Casa Bødtker House, Oslo 1967-79 – Hamarhus at Hedmark Museum in Hamar Municipality, Norway 1990 – Villa Busk, Bamble Municipality 1991-2002 – Norwegian Glacier Museum, Fjærland 1993-96 – Aukrust Centre in Alvdal Municipality 2000 – Ivar Aasen-tunet in Ørsta Municipality 2007 – Gyldendal House, Oslo 2003-08 – National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo

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.

Olaf Fjeld (2009) Sverre Fehn: The Pattern of Thoughts (The Monacelli Press) ISBN 978-1580932172 Gennaro Postiglione; Christian Norberg-Schulz (1997) Sverre Fehn (The Monacelli Press) ISBN 978-1885254641 Per-Olaf Fjeld (1983) Sverre Fehn on the Thought of Construction (Rizzoli International) ISBN 978-0847804719

The Secret of the Shadow: Light and Shadow in Architecture, 2002 with writings by Sverre Fehn Sverre Fehn, The poetry of the straight line =: Den rette linjes poesi, 1992 Yukio Futagawa, Sverre Fehn. Glacier Museum. The Aukrust Centre, in "GA Document 56", 1998 Sverre Fehn. Studio Holme, in "GA Houses 58", 1998