Asplund, Erik Gunnar( 1885 – 1940 )
Architect Competition proposal ‘Tallum’; ‘Study of the Chapel Basin’ sketch of the ‘Toward the
Crypt’ series, 1915 , Swedish Museum of Architecture, 25 25 cm, Thick paperInfluenced by the classicism of Italy, Gunnar Asplund blended Swedish national romanticism with
the geometric forms of early modernism (Wrede, 1980 ). His sketches and drawings display an inte-
gration of architecture with nature, a distinctive aspect of his work. Born in Stockholm, nearly all of
his projects were built in Sweden. He first studied architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology,
Stockholm, from 1905 to 1909 (Cruickshank, 1988 ). After traveling to Germany on a scholarship, he
interned for a short time with I. G. Clason.
His early independent projects were primarily houses, but in 1915 he and Sigurd Lewerentz won
the competition to design burial grounds at the Woodland Cemetery. Although a relatively small
project they successfully incorporated the natural features the site. Having returned from a trip to
Italy in 1913 – 1914 , Asplund’s chapel in the Woodland Cemetery revealed his interests in both classi-
cism and romanticism (Constant, 1994 ). For this chapel, a processional walk through the woods cul-
minated in a columned portico with a steeply angled shingled roof. For a short time ( 1917 – 1920 ),
additional buildings completed during his career include the Bredenberg Department Store, Stockholm,
1933 – 1935 , and the Woodland Crematorium, Göteborg, 1936 – 1940. His much publicized City
Library in Stockholm, 1920 – 1928 , exhibits a stark cylinder referencing the classical form of the
Pantheon and uses a circle in a square motif throughout. Asplund’s later work continued to employ
vernacular and Nordic references but acquired symbolic qualities (Wrede, 1980 ).
This sketch (Figure 7. 1 ) was one of a series that Asplund and Lewerentz included in their submis-
sion for the Woodland Cemetery competition. The series of perspectives describes their design of vari-
ous aspects of the cemetery, gardens and burial sites. They named the perspectives in association with
the experiential characteristics of the views, such as Urn Walk (Constant, 1994 ).
The sketch attributed to Asplund, describes a view of a sunken garden. It has been labeled ‘Study
of a chapel basin (toward the crypt).’ The crypt in the center of the sketch has been designed as a
smooth façade. Around the façade are placed smaller monuments on terraced slopes. To each side of
the pool low thick trees have been planted. The sketch shows diagonal striated lines giving it
volume. The value (a function of dark and light areas) provides depth and contrast to the perspective,
allowing a three-dimensional interpretation. Although the crypt has been situated to the rear, it is
understood as being behind the trees. The texture of the trees accents the light façade to make it
both a focal point and a destination. The one point perspective has been sketched symmetrically
suggesting a certain balance and calmness. Although the parallel strokes might indicate a nervous-
ness, the texture grounds the image.
Caroline Constant describes the design of the cemetery as presenting a ritual procession. She specu-
lates that the architecture allows the visitor to move from dark to light, possibly symbolizing a life after
death (Constant, 1994 ). Asplund’s sketch similarly layers the scene with dark and light areas. The open
front of the space has been contrasted by the restricted space between the row of trees behind. The
dense rendering of the foliage creates a layer in front of the façade, separating one area from the other.
The sequence of spaces helps to indicate how Asplund used nature and natural materials to mold and
define architectural space, not differentiating interior from exterior volume.H5719-Ch07.qxd 7/15/05 3:45 PM Page 169