Anneli Xie
Prof. Martha McNamara
ARTH 200: Architecture and Urban Studies
2020/10/17
Prof. Martha McNamara
ARTH 200: Architecture and Urban Studies
2020/10/17
Utopias, Social Democracy, and the
Materialization of Folkhemmet:
The Gröndal “Star Houses” as a Reflection of Swedish Ideals
The Gröndal “Star Houses” as a Reflection of Swedish Ideals
In contrast to the dire interwar
years, the post-war years in Sweden were optimistic and utopian; during this
time, Sweden was one of the fastest growing economies in the world. (Brunnström 2010, 143) With optimism soaring high, the vision of a new Sweden took shape under the
idea of Folkhemmet and the formation of a new Swedish identity. Translating
to “The People’s Home,” Folkhemmet was a concept introduced by Per Albin
Hansson – leader of SDP and prime minister of Sweden – in a 1928 speech to
the nation. In hope of creating a more egalitarian nation, Hansson used the
home as a metaphor for a better organized society. Sweden was to be found in
the feeling of togetherness and mutual respect; Hansson claimed that “the good
home [was not to] discriminate against the privileged nor deprived,” (Hansson 1928) and wished for Sweden to be a society in which “consideration, cooperation, and
helpfulness prevail[ed.]”(Hansson 1928) The idea of Folkhemmet conceptualized in the interwar years and is most
commonly remembered in its execution during the post-war years, during which
900,000 homes were constructed. (Rudberg 1992, 32) Now known as the Folkhem period, it is Sweden’s largest public housing
project to date; celebrated as a force of social leveling and a foundation for
modern Sweden.
It is in this scene that the neighborhood of Gröndal takes shape. Previously an industrial complex, Gröndal was re-imagined as a residential area in the 1940s Folkhemperiod; and most notably, the Stockholm suburb is also home to Sweden’s first star-shaped housing estate, Kv. Akterspegeln. (Figure 1 and 2) Composed of terraced stjärnhus (transl.: “star houses”), the estate consists of 221 apartments designed by architects Sven Backström and Leif Reinius under the development of Olle Engkvist. (Källström, Silvander and Richette 1993, 32) Built between the years of 1944–1952, Kv. Akterspegeln is a prime example of the physical manifestation of Hansson’s social democratic Folkhemprinciples, seen in its focus on the neighborhood unit and its community. Furthermore, it is an aesthetic representation of Sweden’s adoption of modernism and the establishment of funkis, Sweden’s softer and warmer strain of functionalism. Through examining Kv. Akterspegeln in a formal and sociohistorical analysis, this paper will argue that the housing estate responds to the social democratic values of egalitarianism and togetherness, and that this social democratic influence can be seen in its visual representation. As such, I argue that the star-shaped housing estate of Kv. Akterspegeln is an excellent case study for understanding both Sweden’s social democratic and aesthetic values, transforming and transitioning the focus of Swedish architecture into what we know it as today.
The Interwar Years: Entanglements of Social Democracy and Architecture
To put Gröndal in its context, one needs to go back to the conceptualization of Folkhemmet in the Swedish interwar years. Although Sweden was neutral in both World Wars, the interwar period was still a defining time of change. During this time, Sweden had some of the lowest living standards in Europe, with cities being immensely dirty and congested due to the rapid urbanization following industrialization. (Källström, Silvander and Richette 1993, 45-46) Parallel to the housing crisis, the support for SDP was strongly increasing – likely due to their interest in solving the housing situation – and the party formed its first government in 1917, becoming the first ever social democratic party in the world to take control of government through a democratic process. (Socialdemokraterna 2020) With the birth of the Bauhaus in 1919, it was also during the interwar years that functionalism and modernity was brought to Sweden, introduced in the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930. The simultaneous rise of social democracy and modernist principles are defining in understanding the spatial interventions of Folkhemmet,including the design and development of Kv. Akterspegeln.
The Modernist Legacy: The 1930 Stockholm Exhibition and the Birth of Funkis
The Stockholm Exhibition of 1930 materialized a new vision of modernity and was envisioned to be a forum of social change. With the concurrent shortage of housing, the exhibition focused on the home and its furnishings as a response. Seeking inspiration from modernist icons such as Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, Swedish architects and designers aimed to further the vision of modernity and functionalism that was already well-established in other parts of Europe. In many cases, they did so by imitation. The dozen buildings showcased were highly similar to those of functionalist architecture, with white exteriors, big windows, and flat roofs. (Rudberg 1998, 15) According to art critic Gotthard Johansson, these looked more like cardboard boxes or shacks than the villas and row houses they were aimed to represent. Further criticized by one of Sweden’s top designers at the time, Carl Malmsten, the homes were deemed to be too doctrinaire and non-traditional, lacking the ‘Swedishness’ that Malmsten deemed necessary for a home. (Brunnström 2010, 109-114) Similarly, the public met these houses with skepticism, deeming them too cold and austere to live in. Despite harsh critique, however, the Stockholm Exhibition saw over four million visitors during its four month run, (Rudberg 1998, 211) and the new style presented, termed “funkis,” continued to influence Swedish homes for decades ahead.
Fig. 3. A single family-unit by architect Carl Hörvik, exhibited at the Stockholm Exhibition at 1930. As seen in the photo, Hörvik’s villa was very similar to the architecture of modernist icons such as Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. Hörvik, Carl. “Villa 40." In Svensk Designhistoria, 112. Stockholm: Raster förlag, 2010.
However, the critique received at
the Stockholm Exhibition wasn’t faced with complete dismissal, either. After
all, it didn’t come out of nowhere. Sweden has always had a strong cultural
norm of lagom, and in order for funkis to be fully accepted, it had to become lagom, too. Meaning “just right,” or
“not too little and not too much,” lagom has
prevailed as one of the dominant social democratic ideals throughout Swedish
history. Seen as the quintessential Swedish word, it is closely linked to the
Swedish core value of equality. (Åsbrink 2018, 136) All
should aim to be lagom – including,
of course, architecture and design. For funkis to adhere to the concept of lagom, it had to become softer and more Swedish. Over the years, funkis was
toned down and developed into a warmer strand of the more radical functionalism
found in Western Europe. By blending with Folkhemmet’s ideas of a good
home – and strongly connecting to the inherently Swedish value of lagom – funkis finally became
accepted by the public.
The Post-War Years: Sweden’s Economic Boom and the build of Folkhemmet
If the interwar period in Sweden was one of incubation, planting ideas of functionalism, social democracy, and a vision of the Swedish future, the years following World War II, on the other hand, saw a series of concrete changes. During this time, the Swedish economy was booming, and in 1950, Sweden was one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Sweden’s steady economic growth, under the lead of the SDP, enabled a social revolution that turned into a haven for social mobility. (Brunnström 2010, 143) The idea of the modern Swedish society was founded upon collective successes and the vision of a new Swedish identity; with the emergence of the social welfare system followed a sense of national pride. The SDP, ruling Sweden almost completely uninterruptedly from 1917-1976, worked hard not just to create material security, but also to enable emotional stability and a feeling of belonging amongst the Swedish population. For the social democrats, the most important thing was to fight class divisions and to level the Swedish population. During their long rule, they implemented several socialist reforms – free education, child benefits, the public unemployment insurance fund, regulations of housing standards, and free public healthcare – that realized a socio-economic security to a greater degree than most other nations. (Socialdemokraterna 2020) During their rule, the SDP aimed to promote an equality of the highest standards rather than an equality of minimal needs. For housing, this meant no singling out of low-income families and no subsidized housing program being implemented, as was the case in many other nations in Europe. (Rudberg 1992, 26) Instead, everyone was envisioned to live in the same identical housing unit – no matter their social class – and so, the architecture of Folkhemmet became a reality.
The Materialization of Folkhemmet
During the post-war years, Folkhemmet moved from being a metaphorical concept into a reality. Between 1945 and 1960, 900,000 homes were built in Sweden. (Rudberg 1992, 23) With a focus on the multi-family unit, it was in the materialization of Folkhemmet that the functionalist influences from the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition really started being appropriated and re-imagined. Seeking to improve the highly congested living conditions that had prevailed in Sweden, the new housing focused on providing space and light for all citizens in the Folkhem era. The new units were regulated to be big enough to not host more than two people in the same room; a family of four, for example, would have to live in a tenement of two-rooms and a kitchen to not classify as living in a cramped manner. (Brunnström 2010, 157) As such, living conditions improved drastically. However, in contrast to the buildings that had been shown at the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition, the architecture of Folkhemmet was more playful. Rather than the Bauhaus-inspired buildings – flat-roofed and with white exteriors – the houses of Folkhemmetsaw a regression in terms of style, with elements from the era of national romanticism once again being emphasized. The new buildings saw the return of the traditional gable roof and were, despite the survival of the functionalist non-ornamental exterior, more expressive. The facades were accentuated by balconies and bay windows – which both had functional purposes – and were painted in earthy tones. Instead of being purely decorative, the new accentuation had its own purpose and reason for being there, while simultaneously giving the building its own character. Thus, despite becoming more expressive, the architecture of Folkhemmet still remained some of the most important ideals from the functionalism of the 1930s, such that less is more, and that form follows function.
Fig. 4. One way that the Folkhem architecture re-interpreted the non-ornamental facades of the modernists was to accentuate its functional elements. Here, a rounded balcony on an ochre-colored facade, on a Folkhem building in Tuna backar, Uppsala. Nelsäter, Hans. “Tuna backar.” In Folkhemmets byggande, 75. Stockholm: Svenska turistföreningen, 1992.
Kvarteret Akterspegeln
The star-shaped housing estate of Kv. Akterspegeln is the perfect case study for understanding the materialization of Folkhemmet and how funkis blends modernist principles with more traditional Swedish values. Built in 1944–1952 as part of Hansson’s vision for a modern “people’s home,” Kv. Akterspegeln is today “marked blue” by the city of Stockholm, meaning the housing estate is of “extremely high cultural-historical value.”(Källström, Silvander and Richette 1993, 45) Composed of terraced star houses, Akterspegeln responds to both the shortage of housing units, the emphasis on light, and the focus on the collective.
In line with the architectural values of their time, Backström and Reinius placed a big emphasis on light in their design of the star house. Whereas the Stockholm cityscape had previously been characterized by congestion, bad sanitary practices, and disease – and with large areas of Sweden also being famously dark and cold for long months of the year – the modernist values of “space, light, and air” were prioritized in the Folkhem development. In combination with the emphasis on greenery, stemming from the garden movement in the 1940s, the new architecture was a solution to the problems that were existent in the city’s more cramped quarters. (Hermelin 1952, 13)
Fig. 5. Aerial view of Kv. Akterspegeln. Bladh, Oskar. Stjärnhus och terrasshus i Gröndal Exteriör. 1962. Digitalt Museum. Accessed October 10, 2020. https://digitaltmuseum.se/011015009396/stjarnhus-och-terrasshus-i-grondal-exterior-flygbild-over-grondal-stjarnhus.
The name in itself – star
house – stems from the aerial view of the buildings. Seen from above, the modular
units resemble three-pointed stars. An apartment complex of three
floors, the structure is joined by a common stairwell in the middle, and in each
“star ray” is an apartment. In total, a single star house is home to
nine apartments, most of which are units with two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a
separate kitchen that total to about 58 sqm. (Källström, Silvander and Richette 1993, 45) Because of the star shape, each apartment has windows facing three directions
and thus receives some daylight throughout the day; and each has either a
balcony or a small patio. (Thörn 1997, 410) Whereas
the star houses can be freestanding, they can, because of their modularity, also
connect to each other, making them both space-efficient and lofty. Most
commonly, five star houses connect to create a hexagonal structure; a courtyard
protected by six walls. Kv. Akterspegeln consists of six
independent, 18 terraced star houses, and eight sheltered courtyards. While
retaining the non-ornamental façades of functionalism, the stucco exteriors are
painted in red, green, white, and ochre; an expressive and colorful nod towards
Swedish building tradition.
Fig. 7. Backström and Reinius’ plan for the terraced star houses, forming a honeycomb shape. The hexagonal structures that the buildings enclose form 7 courtyards. Backström, Sven and Leif Reinius. “Stjärnhusen i kv. Akterspegeln." In Vårdprogram: Brf Stjärnhusen Stockholm, Gröndal, 7. Stockholm: Stockholms Byggnadsantikvarier AB, 2017.
Fig. 8. B ackström and Reinius’ drawings for the singular star house. Initially, the ground floors were imagined to host commercial activity, although this was never realized. Backström, Sven and Leif Reinius. “Stjärnhusen i kv. Akterspegeln." In Gröndal och Aspudden, 48-49. Stockholm: Kommitten för Stockholmsforskning, 1993.
Similarly, the courtyards are a nod
towards the social democratic values of Folkhemmet. Rather than the
privately-owned villa gardens, the courtyards are public gardens that could be
enjoyed by the neighborhood residents. Similarly, they would be not only
beautiful, but also functional in fostering neighborhood community. In this
vein, Sven Hermelin, one of the landscape architects of Kv. Akterspegeln,
advocated for greenery and recreational spaces as fostering well-being amongst
neighborhood residents; and Backström and Reinius’ own architectonic visions of the star house
courtyards was similarly one of “varied
and pleasant design with vegetation, seating, and sandpits for young children.” (Backström and Reinius 1945, 8) In a drawing by Lisa Bauer, one of the courtyards of Akterspegeln is depicted
from a resident balcony on one of the upper floors. The drawing
depicts a vision of the courtyard as “lummig,” a Swedish word for dense
greenery that has become important in evoking a feeling of sheltered beauty. In
the courtyards of Kv.
Akterspegeln, the
accommodation for a safe and beautiful space of fresh air and greenery was
deemed enough to brighten spirits and foster recreation on its own. (Hermelin 1952, 342) With each of the terraced star house apartments overlooking two courtyards,
they fostered community on the ground while also enabling the Jacobian eyes on
the street by being beautiful and enticing from above.
Fig. 9. Lisa Bauer’s depiction of Kv. Akterspegeln’s courtyards; as sheltered natural beauty.
Bauer, Lisa. “Innergården." In Byggmästaren: Tidsskrift för arkitektur och byggnadsteknik 10. Stockholm: Bröderna Lagerström, 1945.
More than
purely a residential neighborhood, Gröndal – the area encompassing Kv. Akterspegeln – had the utopian vision of convenience that
could be found in the concept of the neighborhood unit. (Rudberg 1992, 66) To complement the
residential area with community facilities and commercial activities was
important. As such, surrounding Kv. Akterspegeln at
walking distance were commercial stores, a pharmacy, a combined theatre/cinema,
hairdressers, and patisseries. (Källström, Silvander and Richette 1993, 47) In addition, ideas of a
bigger neighborhood center – resembling that of a city center – were
present under the concept of ABC cities. ABC cities, standing for “Arbete,
Bostad, Centrum” (transl.: “Work, Home, Downtown,”) were conceptualized as a
response to the suburban development in Stockholm. (Friman and Söderström 2008, 67) The idea was that
suburbs would be small cities independent of the bigger city that the
neighborhood was part of. In our case, Akterspegeln, in
combination with other neighborhoods in Gröndal, such as Kv. Kandelabern and Kv. Galjonen, were
served by a mixed-use downtown that connected the area to the rest of Stockholm
by tram. Founded on egalitarianism and community, the ABC cities remain in many parts of
Sweden still today. (Rudberg 1992, 85)
Remebering Folkhemmet
In many ways, the 1900s in Sweden set the scene for a radical paradigm shift. Whereas the interwar years merely planted ideas of social democracy and modernism, the post-war years saw these flourish in the materialization of Folkhemmet. A mix of modernist ideals, social democratic Folkhem values, and the quintessential Swedish principles of “lagom,” Gröndal’s famous star-shaped housing estate, Kv. Akterspegeln is exemplary in this endeavor. Today, the estate is celebrated for its character – not clear-cut but still recognizable – designed in an inherently Swedish blend of funkis; and whereas the star houses were previously owned and managed by the Olle Engkvist Developer’s Foundation and leased as rental units, it was in 2005 taken over from the tenant-owner housing cooperative BRF Stjärnhusen (BRF Stjärnhusen Stockholm 2020) – an extended reflection of their social democratic background.
Backström, Sven and Leif Reinius. Byggmästaren: Tidsskrift för arkitektur och byggnadsteknik 10. Stockholm: Bröderna Lagerström, 1945.
BRF Stjärnhusen Stockholm. “Om Stjärnhusen.” Accessed October 16, 2020, http://stjarnhusen.info/om-stjarnhusen/.
Brunnström, Lasse. Svensk Designhistoria. Stockholm: Raster förlag, 2010.
Friman, Helena and Göran Söderström. Stockholm: En historia i kartor och bilder. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstram, 2008.
Hansson, Per Albin. “Folkhemstalet.” Speech, Stockholm, January 18, 1928.
Hermelin, Sven A.Trädgårdskonst I: Växtmaterial och anläggningsteknik. Stockholm: Natur & Kultur, 1952.
Källström, Gun, Johan Silvander and Christian Richette. Gröndal och Aspudden: Ett mönstersamhälle utanför stadens hank och stör. Stockholm: Kommitten för Stockholmsforskning, 1993.
Rudberg, Eva. Folkhemmets byggande: under mellan-och efterkrigstiden. Stockholm: Svenska turistföreningen, 1992.
Rudberg, Eva. Stockholmsutställningen 1930: Modernismens genombrott i svensk arkitektur. Stockholm: Stockholmia förlag, 1998.
Socialdemokraterna. “Vår Historia.” Accessed October 13, 2020, https://www.socialdemokraterna.se/vart-parti/om-partiet/var-historia.
Thörn, Kerstin. En bostad för hemmet: idéhistoriska studier i bostadsfrågan 1889–1929. Umeå: Umeå University, 1997.
Åsbrink, Elisabeth. Orden som formade Sverige. Stockholm: Natur & Kultur, 2018.
It is in this scene that the neighborhood of Gröndal takes shape. Previously an industrial complex, Gröndal was re-imagined as a residential area in the 1940s Folkhemperiod; and most notably, the Stockholm suburb is also home to Sweden’s first star-shaped housing estate, Kv. Akterspegeln. (Figure 1 and 2) Composed of terraced stjärnhus (transl.: “star houses”), the estate consists of 221 apartments designed by architects Sven Backström and Leif Reinius under the development of Olle Engkvist. (Källström, Silvander and Richette 1993, 32) Built between the years of 1944–1952, Kv. Akterspegeln is a prime example of the physical manifestation of Hansson’s social democratic Folkhemprinciples, seen in its focus on the neighborhood unit and its community. Furthermore, it is an aesthetic representation of Sweden’s adoption of modernism and the establishment of funkis, Sweden’s softer and warmer strain of functionalism. Through examining Kv. Akterspegeln in a formal and sociohistorical analysis, this paper will argue that the housing estate responds to the social democratic values of egalitarianism and togetherness, and that this social democratic influence can be seen in its visual representation. As such, I argue that the star-shaped housing estate of Kv. Akterspegeln is an excellent case study for understanding both Sweden’s social democratic and aesthetic values, transforming and transitioning the focus of Swedish architecture into what we know it as today.
Fig. 1. Kv. Akterspegeln, located in Gröndal, a suburb of Stockholm.
Bladh, Oskar. Stjärnhus
och terrasshus i Gröndal Exteriör. 1962. Digitalt Museum. Accessed October
10, 2020. https://digitaltmuseum.se/011015009396/stjarnhus-och-terrasshus-i-grondal-exterior-flygbild-over-grondal-stjarnhus.
The Interwar Years: Entanglements of Social Democracy and Architecture
To put Gröndal in its context, one needs to go back to the conceptualization of Folkhemmet in the Swedish interwar years. Although Sweden was neutral in both World Wars, the interwar period was still a defining time of change. During this time, Sweden had some of the lowest living standards in Europe, with cities being immensely dirty and congested due to the rapid urbanization following industrialization. (Källström, Silvander and Richette 1993, 45-46) Parallel to the housing crisis, the support for SDP was strongly increasing – likely due to their interest in solving the housing situation – and the party formed its first government in 1917, becoming the first ever social democratic party in the world to take control of government through a democratic process. (Socialdemokraterna 2020) With the birth of the Bauhaus in 1919, it was also during the interwar years that functionalism and modernity was brought to Sweden, introduced in the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930. The simultaneous rise of social democracy and modernist principles are defining in understanding the spatial interventions of Folkhemmet,including the design and development of Kv. Akterspegeln.
The Modernist Legacy: The 1930 Stockholm Exhibition and the Birth of Funkis
The Stockholm Exhibition of 1930 materialized a new vision of modernity and was envisioned to be a forum of social change. With the concurrent shortage of housing, the exhibition focused on the home and its furnishings as a response. Seeking inspiration from modernist icons such as Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, Swedish architects and designers aimed to further the vision of modernity and functionalism that was already well-established in other parts of Europe. In many cases, they did so by imitation. The dozen buildings showcased were highly similar to those of functionalist architecture, with white exteriors, big windows, and flat roofs. (Rudberg 1998, 15) According to art critic Gotthard Johansson, these looked more like cardboard boxes or shacks than the villas and row houses they were aimed to represent. Further criticized by one of Sweden’s top designers at the time, Carl Malmsten, the homes were deemed to be too doctrinaire and non-traditional, lacking the ‘Swedishness’ that Malmsten deemed necessary for a home. (Brunnström 2010, 109-114) Similarly, the public met these houses with skepticism, deeming them too cold and austere to live in. Despite harsh critique, however, the Stockholm Exhibition saw over four million visitors during its four month run, (Rudberg 1998, 211) and the new style presented, termed “funkis,” continued to influence Swedish homes for decades ahead.
Fig. 3. A single family-unit by architect Carl Hörvik, exhibited at the Stockholm Exhibition at 1930. As seen in the photo, Hörvik’s villa was very similar to the architecture of modernist icons such as Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. Hörvik, Carl. “Villa 40." In Svensk Designhistoria, 112. Stockholm: Raster förlag, 2010.
The Post-War Years: Sweden’s Economic Boom and the build of Folkhemmet
If the interwar period in Sweden was one of incubation, planting ideas of functionalism, social democracy, and a vision of the Swedish future, the years following World War II, on the other hand, saw a series of concrete changes. During this time, the Swedish economy was booming, and in 1950, Sweden was one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Sweden’s steady economic growth, under the lead of the SDP, enabled a social revolution that turned into a haven for social mobility. (Brunnström 2010, 143) The idea of the modern Swedish society was founded upon collective successes and the vision of a new Swedish identity; with the emergence of the social welfare system followed a sense of national pride. The SDP, ruling Sweden almost completely uninterruptedly from 1917-1976, worked hard not just to create material security, but also to enable emotional stability and a feeling of belonging amongst the Swedish population. For the social democrats, the most important thing was to fight class divisions and to level the Swedish population. During their long rule, they implemented several socialist reforms – free education, child benefits, the public unemployment insurance fund, regulations of housing standards, and free public healthcare – that realized a socio-economic security to a greater degree than most other nations. (Socialdemokraterna 2020) During their rule, the SDP aimed to promote an equality of the highest standards rather than an equality of minimal needs. For housing, this meant no singling out of low-income families and no subsidized housing program being implemented, as was the case in many other nations in Europe. (Rudberg 1992, 26) Instead, everyone was envisioned to live in the same identical housing unit – no matter their social class – and so, the architecture of Folkhemmet became a reality.
The Materialization of Folkhemmet
During the post-war years, Folkhemmet moved from being a metaphorical concept into a reality. Between 1945 and 1960, 900,000 homes were built in Sweden. (Rudberg 1992, 23) With a focus on the multi-family unit, it was in the materialization of Folkhemmet that the functionalist influences from the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition really started being appropriated and re-imagined. Seeking to improve the highly congested living conditions that had prevailed in Sweden, the new housing focused on providing space and light for all citizens in the Folkhem era. The new units were regulated to be big enough to not host more than two people in the same room; a family of four, for example, would have to live in a tenement of two-rooms and a kitchen to not classify as living in a cramped manner. (Brunnström 2010, 157) As such, living conditions improved drastically. However, in contrast to the buildings that had been shown at the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition, the architecture of Folkhemmet was more playful. Rather than the Bauhaus-inspired buildings – flat-roofed and with white exteriors – the houses of Folkhemmetsaw a regression in terms of style, with elements from the era of national romanticism once again being emphasized. The new buildings saw the return of the traditional gable roof and were, despite the survival of the functionalist non-ornamental exterior, more expressive. The facades were accentuated by balconies and bay windows – which both had functional purposes – and were painted in earthy tones. Instead of being purely decorative, the new accentuation had its own purpose and reason for being there, while simultaneously giving the building its own character. Thus, despite becoming more expressive, the architecture of Folkhemmet still remained some of the most important ideals from the functionalism of the 1930s, such that less is more, and that form follows function.
Fig. 4. One way that the Folkhem architecture re-interpreted the non-ornamental facades of the modernists was to accentuate its functional elements. Here, a rounded balcony on an ochre-colored facade, on a Folkhem building in Tuna backar, Uppsala. Nelsäter, Hans. “Tuna backar.” In Folkhemmets byggande, 75. Stockholm: Svenska turistföreningen, 1992.
The star-shaped housing estate of Kv. Akterspegeln is the perfect case study for understanding the materialization of Folkhemmet and how funkis blends modernist principles with more traditional Swedish values. Built in 1944–1952 as part of Hansson’s vision for a modern “people’s home,” Kv. Akterspegeln is today “marked blue” by the city of Stockholm, meaning the housing estate is of “extremely high cultural-historical value.”(Källström, Silvander and Richette 1993, 45) Composed of terraced star houses, Akterspegeln responds to both the shortage of housing units, the emphasis on light, and the focus on the collective.
In line with the architectural values of their time, Backström and Reinius placed a big emphasis on light in their design of the star house. Whereas the Stockholm cityscape had previously been characterized by congestion, bad sanitary practices, and disease – and with large areas of Sweden also being famously dark and cold for long months of the year – the modernist values of “space, light, and air” were prioritized in the Folkhem development. In combination with the emphasis on greenery, stemming from the garden movement in the 1940s, the new architecture was a solution to the problems that were existent in the city’s more cramped quarters. (Hermelin 1952, 13)
Fig. 5. Aerial view of Kv. Akterspegeln. Bladh, Oskar. Stjärnhus och terrasshus i Gröndal Exteriör. 1962. Digitalt Museum. Accessed October 10, 2020. https://digitaltmuseum.se/011015009396/stjarnhus-och-terrasshus-i-grondal-exterior-flygbild-over-grondal-stjarnhus.
Fig. 7. Backström and Reinius’ plan for the terraced star houses, forming a honeycomb shape. The hexagonal structures that the buildings enclose form 7 courtyards. Backström, Sven and Leif Reinius. “Stjärnhusen i kv. Akterspegeln." In Vårdprogram: Brf Stjärnhusen Stockholm, Gröndal, 7. Stockholm: Stockholms Byggnadsantikvarier AB, 2017.
Fig. 8. B ackström and Reinius’ drawings for the singular star house. Initially, the ground floors were imagined to host commercial activity, although this was never realized. Backström, Sven and Leif Reinius. “Stjärnhusen i kv. Akterspegeln." In Gröndal och Aspudden, 48-49. Stockholm: Kommitten för Stockholmsforskning, 1993.
Fig. 9. Lisa Bauer’s depiction of Kv. Akterspegeln’s courtyards; as sheltered natural beauty.
Bauer, Lisa. “Innergården." In Byggmästaren: Tidsskrift för arkitektur och byggnadsteknik 10. Stockholm: Bröderna Lagerström, 1945.
Remebering Folkhemmet
In many ways, the 1900s in Sweden set the scene for a radical paradigm shift. Whereas the interwar years merely planted ideas of social democracy and modernism, the post-war years saw these flourish in the materialization of Folkhemmet. A mix of modernist ideals, social democratic Folkhem values, and the quintessential Swedish principles of “lagom,” Gröndal’s famous star-shaped housing estate, Kv. Akterspegeln is exemplary in this endeavor. Today, the estate is celebrated for its character – not clear-cut but still recognizable – designed in an inherently Swedish blend of funkis; and whereas the star houses were previously owned and managed by the Olle Engkvist Developer’s Foundation and leased as rental units, it was in 2005 taken over from the tenant-owner housing cooperative BRF Stjärnhusen (BRF Stjärnhusen Stockholm 2020) – an extended reflection of their social democratic background.
References
Backström, Sven and Leif Reinius. Byggmästaren: Tidsskrift för arkitektur och byggnadsteknik 10. Stockholm: Bröderna Lagerström, 1945.
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