Historiography of Swedish Building Types

Abstract

SummaryThis article investigates Swedish building type research as a methodological genre formed by the idea that architectural history is a history of construction tasks and functions. Departing from an analysis of 50 studies carried out mainly by art historians and ethnologists, we delineate the formation of a genre, its characteristics and changes over time. As the concept of building type can refer either to form or to function, we argue that it is necessary to pinpoint the scope of building type studies. Otherwise, when speaking of activity types as if they were synonymous with form types, there has been a tendency to omit from architectural history those buildings that were not planned to serve the function they eventually came to hold. The starting place of the methodology is the early twentieth-century mapping activities of Nordiska museet, initially covering peasant settlements and manors. Following this era, the Svensk stad project introduced function as the central point of departure for built environment studies. The third stage is the development of a professional conservation practice, which, in the 1960's, brought critique of the modernist post-war rebuilding programmes and emphasised sustainability. Finally, most building type studies have abandoned their buildings at the moment when they are ready for use, or even earlier. We suggest that, to comprehend a building's historical function and significance, we need to include reconstructions and modifications, both blueprints and usage. Such research may open doors to new possibilities, which will require a deepening of theoretical outsets and methodologies.