01. The columns come back
During the 1970s criticism grows of modernism's large-scale, anonymous building. Postmodernism answers with historical references, symmetry, columns, strong colour and often a dose of irony. The term takes off with Charles Jencks's book The Language of Post-Modern Architecture from 1977.
In Sweden, Postmodernism mainly shapes the housing and offices of the 1980s. The best-known example is "Bofill's Arch" at Södra station in Stockholm. The Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill wins the commission in 1985, and the crescent of 320 flats is built in 1989–1992 around a plaza 180 metres across. Compared with Bofill's French projects, the decoration here is heavily toned down – Swedish Postmodernism, in short.
During the 1990s Postmodernism gives way to a new, simpler modernism.
02. How to spot it
- 1.Historical quotations: columns, pediments, arches
- 2.Symmetry and axes
- 3.Strong colours
- 4.Playfulness and irony
- 5.Closed blocks and street spaces – in protest against modernism's towers in the park
03. The giveaway
The quotations. A column that carries nothing, a pediment in sheet metal or an arch at the wrong scale – Postmodernism quotes history, but does not pretend to be old.
Read the façade
- A broken pediment – a quotation
- Round window
- An arch at an exaggerated scale
04. Architects and builders
- Ricardo Bofill
05. Where to see it
- Bofill's Arch, Södra station, Stockholm1989–1992
06. Often confused with
Swedish Grace. Both are classically inspired, but the classicism of the 1920s is meant seriously and is crafted. Postmodernism quotes – with a wink.
Sources
- lex.dk (Den Store Danske): "Sverige – arkitektur – 1850 til i dag"
- Swedish Wikipedia: "Postmodernism (arkitektur)"
- Göteborgs universitet: "Planeringsprocessen av Södra stationsområdet och Bofills båge" (uppsats, GUPEA)