Asplund's Stockholm City Library will be "restructured" by Caruso St John

metalocus, ÁNGEL BLANCO
On 19 December it was announced that the British Caruso St John Architects have won the competition to restore, restructure and add to Gunnar Asplund's Stockholm City Library. The project will involve work to the annex and bazaars as well as to the main building, and will be carried out in collaboration with Scheiwiller Svensson Arkitektkontor.

The City of Stockholm is planning right now to develop and renovate the city library. The main building, designed by Gunnar Asplund and inaugurated in 1928, is one of the modern Swedish architecture's great work, known internationally and possibly the world's most modern and accessible library in its time, was the first in the country to offer public access to the stacks. Caruso St John will pick up the baton for the library project, which has been on hold since 2009, after being selected as "the most qualified" firm for the task of developing one of Sweden's most important public buildings.
 

"Our assessment is simply to Caruso St John Architects is most qualified for the task. They have a recognized expertise in working with cultural and historical buildings and public buildings containing cultural activities. It involves, for example galleries, art galleries, museums, libraries and churches"

Juan Copovi-Mena, Property Director in the City
 

"No external developments are planned, but the focus is on internal development." said a statement from Caruso St John. Unlike the previous scheme – which was scrapped following funding issues and protests from heritage groups– Caruso St John's design is being pitched as a "restoration and restructure", rather than an entirely new extension. The studio's proposal focuses on the reorganisation of the building's internal spaces, which will be re-planned to help the library adapt to contemporary demands. 
 

Work is expected to start on the building in 2017, and be completed by 2019.
 

In 2007, German architect Heike Hanada, was selected from 1,160 entries by a jury that included Adam Caruso, co-founder of Caruso St John. But the scheme was scrapped in 2009. "The politicians say that it is too expensive. That is the official reason. But there is discussion on whether this is true," Annika Jensfelt, an editor of the Swedish Association of Architects' magazine Arkitekten told in 2009. "Important cultural people have debated it, saying it is spitting on Asplund. Perhaps this is the true reason."

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Eric Gunnar Asplund was born in Stockholm in 1885. He studied at the Higher Technical School and then at the Academy of Art, graduating in 1909. That same year he entered an architectural competition for the Swedish Church in Paris, basing his design on architecture traditional of your country. He also used this approach in two competitions for schools, one in Karlshmn in 1912 and another in Hedemora, 1913. That same year he entered the competition for the extension of the Göteborg City Hall, the latter winning.

Asplund visited the United States to research library design to put together a program for competition in Sweden. His research so impressed the Stockholm Municipal Library Committee that the competition was not held, inviting him to present his project in 1921, the building was completed in 1928. Its architecture went through a process of ornamental simplification that little by little it approximated the schemes of the modern movement. Until reaching his brief rationalist period (1928-1933), his work is strongly influenced by the French neoclassicists, the Austrian Josef Hoffman, and mainly by Bindesboll with his Thorwaldsen Museum in Copenhagen (1948).

The Stockholm Exhibition of 1930 not only establishes modern architecture in Sweden but recognizes Asplund as the leader of a group of young architects within the Arts and Crafts Society. Four years later he was commissioned to expand the Göteborg Town Hall which he had won in 1913. In total, Asplund designed 68 projects, of which 32 were built. He died on October 20, 1940, in Stockholm and became known for depicting the Swedish neoclassical architecture of the 1920s.
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Caruso St John Architects established their practice in 1990. The office of approximately 30 work in an open studio in a 1930s factory building in East London which the practice converted to studio use for themselves. In 2010 a second office was opened by the practice in Zurich.

Adam Caruso studied architecture at McGill University in Montreal. He worked for Florian Beigel and Arup Associates before establishing his own practice with Peter St John in 1990.

He taught at the University of North London from 1990-2000, and was Professor of Architecture at the University of Bath from 2002-2005. He has been Visiting Professor at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, at the ETH Zurich, and on the Cities Programme at the London School of Economics. In 2011 Adam Caruso was appointed Professor of Architecture and Construction at the ETH Zurich.

Peter St John began his architectural studies at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, completing them at the Architectural Association in 1984. He worked for Richard Rogers, Florian Beigel, Dixon Jones, and Arup Associates prior to establishing his own practice with Adam Caruso.

Peter taught at the University of North London from 1990-2000. He was a Visiting Professor at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, Switzerland from 1999-2001, and Visiting Professor in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Bath from 2001-2004. In 2005 he was a visiting critic at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. From 2007 to 2009 he was a visiting professor at ETH in Zurich. He is currently an external examiner at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture in Aberdeen and Cardiff School of Architecture.

Rod Heyes studied architecture at Cambridge University and the University of North London (now London Metropolitan University). He joined Caruso St John in 1998 and was made a senior associate in 2005. He plays a major role in the management of the practice, dealing specifically with resourcing and programming. He was project architect for the Brick House, the refurbishment of the Barbican Concert Hall, Spike Island in Bristol and Chiswick House Cafe. Rod is currently leading the practice's work at Tate Britain. He has taught architecture at the University of Bath and at London Metropolitan University and has led Diploma Unit 4 at Kingston University for the last three years. He has lectured widely in the UK including Plymouth Univeristy, the Univerity of Greenwich and Edinburgh University.

www.carusostjohn.com

Address:

London
1 Coate Street
London E2 9AG
+44 20 7613 3161

Zürich
Räffelstrasse 32
8045 Zürich
+41 44 454 80 90

Act.>. 01/2013 - 06/2016

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Published on: December 30, 2014
Cite: "Asplund's Stockholm City Library will be "restructured" by Caruso St John" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/asplunds-stockholm-city-library-will-be-restructured-caruso-st-john> ISSN 1139-6415
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