Review "[Sverre Fehn's] talent for applying Modernist ideas to traditional Nordic forms and materials earned him the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1997 and made him the most prominent Norwegian architect of the postwar era." --New York Times "[Sverre Fehn: The Pattern of Thoughts is] a wonderful, very complete tribute to a great architect and interesting person written by a devoted admirer. If you're a fan, it's well worth your time."--UnBeige.com About the Author Per Olaf Fjeld is a professor at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. Since 1975, he has run a small architectural studio with his wife, Emily Randall Fjeld. He has written a number of books and articles on architecture, most recently, Sverre Fehn: The Pattern of Thought, a biography and perceptive critique on the acclaimed postwar modernist.
J**R
Lone wolf
Great sensitive architect pursuing own vision.The vision was of honesty and beauty irrespective of fashion but his own response to the world and some of the basic questions. Very well produced book.
D**R
Ok
Ok
P**S
Five Stars
Smooth
J**E
Thoughts of a poetic architect
If you are Severre Fehn's fan, this book will be an extremely rewarding read.Author of the book worked with Fehn, wrote a book with Fehn, and taught with Fehn.The book is an insider's story. It covers many anecdotes and casual conversationsabout Fehn.The book is divided into chapters, more or less chronologically, covering similarthemes and issues that occupied Fehn. In between author's extremely well craftedparagraphs, Fehn's own words and speakings are inserted (bold text) with his sketches.Pritzker Receipient, fans of Fehn remember his famous chalkboard talkings.He tells a story about his thoughts and buildings in Norwegian sense of place and poetry.Succint and terse, yet, deep and mythical.His storytelling of the site and his architectural response to it are charged withalmost primitive metaphors. Norwegian Pavilion in Venice and Glacier Museum in Fjaerland are bestexamples that shows Fehn's oratory structure manifested in material structure.Semantics of Fehn is like that of a blade of sword, constantly cutting and reflecting.It cuts earth and reflects light. Readers of the book will be chilled by the sound ofhis words and thrilled by the essence of his contents.The book is tantalizing in other matters as well. Fehn's relationship and friendship with otherfamous architects in Scandinavia, Italy, and the US is well documented. His stayand influence in Venice (Scarpa), Paris (Prouve), and New York (Hejduk) is also well told.His international networking with Team X and his personal retreating with School of Osloalso bi-polarizes Fehn's communal relationship and artistic solitude.If a prospect reader likes Kahn, Lewerentz, and Zumthor. Here is another great bookwith many poetic surprises.
