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Nils Einar Eriksson

Nils Einar Eriksson (1899-1978)

‘A crab in a rectangle’, is how the architect Nils Einar Eriksson described his concert hall, where the crab symbolised the unusual hall, and the rectangle described how the simple square building fitted in next to Götaplatsen. Eriksson was only in his early thirties when he won a competition to design the concert hall, at a time when his functionalistic ideas formed a sharp contrast to the strict classicism of the 1920s.

Warm functionalistic concert experience

The greatness of Eriksson's building lies in how he successfully managed to implement his functionalistic ideas, and still remain respectful of the classicistic style which characterises the surrounding area. The building's exterior fits seamlessly into the neighbourhood, and the front which faces Götaplatsen, has both a classicistic base and a simple colonnade. The interior of the building has been carefully designed to offer a powerful concert experience. From the din of the city, you climb the steps, walk through the large glass doors, and into a spacious entrance hall. You then continue up a curved staircase to a walkway which leads around the entire concert hall. The magnificent hall has been designed according to all the knowledge of the time, and therefore offers excellent acoustics. The walls curve slightly, and their complicated shape is clad with warm maple panelling. Many people have compared the hall to a sensitive instrument, a bit like the city's very own Stradivarius.

Nils Einar Eriksson received good reviews for his work on the concert hall, and the composer Gösta Nystroem wrote in the Handelstidningen newspaper on the 5 October 1935: "To anyone who has watched Nils Einar Eriksson climbing the scaffolding, stepping between tubs of mortar and pieces of wood – with never-ceasing ideas, energetically counting and drawing, and with artistic inspiration as an overwhelming driving force, it is hardly surprising to find the result of his efforts so perfectly clear and distinct in its architectural harmony"

Nils Einar Eriksson Nils Einar Eriksson

Nils Einar Eriksson and his Gothenburg

Eriksson began his career at Gunnar Asplund in Stockholm, but later moved to Gothenburg. Eriksson went on to design a number of important structures in the city, including the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre (1939), the bridge Götaälvbron (1939), Folkets Hus by Järntorget (1949), Park Aveny Hotel (1950), and Guldheden's water tower (1953).

 

Text: Per Nadén