Abstract
The quick modernisation of Iceland, which took place rapidly from the first decades of the 20th century onwards, brought not only fishing trawlers and cars into the country. Among all the techniques of modernity, steinsteypa [concrete] was to become the key material that changed the built landscape of the island and was soon adopted by the first Icelandic architects, such as Rögnvaldur Ólafsson (1874–1914) and Guðjón Samúelsson (1887–1950). Interestingly, the main supporter of this material was Guðmundur Hannesson (1866–1946), a medical doctor and town planning enthusiast who wrote several articles and even a guidebook published in 1921, Steinsteypa. Leiðarvísir fyrir alþýðu og viðvaninga [Concrete: A Guidebook for Common People and Beginners]. In a country that was seeking an architectural self-representation, he understood the technical and formal possibilities that concrete could offer. By analysing his articles and publications, this essay aims to discuss the rhetoric of Guðmundur Hannesson and his role in writing an Icelandic chapter of the history of concrete, from its early stage of unmodern trial-and-error to the definition of a modern Icelandic architecture.
Highlights
It is commonly known that the history of concrete, since the first trials in the mid-19th century, has been a history originally shaped by a vast and eclectic group of technicians and non-technicians, building experts and amateurs, who all contributed to the rapid growth of this technique (Gabetti 1955; Collins 1959; Forty 2012)
The fascinating role that concrete played at the turn of the century, swinging from its unskilled applications to the birth of an architectural modernity, can be comprehensively described in the small case study of the history of Icelandic construction
Detailed descriptions of several kinds of timber formworks are included and some of them, in Guðmundur Hannesson’s later book titled Húsagerð á Íslandi [The Construction of Buildings in Iceland], will appear with specific names, such as: Sveinatungumót [formwork of Sveinatunga], tangarmót [pliers formwork] and Reykjavíkurmót [formwork of Reykjavík] (Figure 9). While such a guidebook is a unique work among the Icelandic technical literature, it is certainly related to the lively publishing world of reinforced concrete in the first decades of the 20th century
Summary
It is commonly known that the history of concrete, since the first trials in the mid-19th century, has been a history originally shaped by a vast and eclectic group of technicians and non-technicians, building experts and amateurs, who all contributed to the rapid growth of this technique (Gabetti 1955; Collins 1959; Forty 2012). It is especially the insulation layer that defines Guðmundur Hannesson’s design signature, as it became the doctor’s leading battle in order to teach how to build “Hlý og rakalaus steinhús [warm and dry stone houses].” This was the title of an article (Figure 3) published two years after Jón Þorláksson’s mentioned inquiry among the farmers. The history of concrete construction is usually related to the extensive use of unskilled labour, Guðmundur Hannesson soon understood that in the harsh climate conditions of Iceland the knowledge of building experts was pivotal By so doing, he suggested a series of architectural guidelines that would be summed up in his Skipulag sveitabæja [About Farmhouses], published in 1919 (Hannesson 1919).
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