Oslo City Hall

The city hall of Oslo was built between 1931 and 1950. It is one of the most monumental buildings in the Norwegian capital, and represents several cross-currents between late historicist and early modern architecture. It is also represents one of the longest building projects in modern Norwegian history. The following page gives a rapid overview of the development.

The city administration was previously housed in a purpose-built structure at the city's oldest square (Christiania Torv). The old city hall was built in the 1640s but ceased to be used for this purpose after the Swedish siege of 1716, most likely due war damage. A new building for the purpose was selected in the vicinity of the harbour, at the corner of Rådhusgata and Dronningens gate.     

By the beginning of the 19th century, the premises were already deemed too small. However, a new city hall was given less priority than the other building projects of the day: royal palace, parliament, university, stock exchange etc. Plans for a new city hall began in 1824 but the project quickly stalled. Only in 1841 did the architect Christian Grosch deliver a proposal.

At this point, it was thought that the new building would lie approximately where the old central police station from 1866 at Møllergata is today, in the Hammersborg area. Grosch described the style as anglo-saxon or pre-gothic.

In 1862 it was decided to place the city hall next to the church of the holy trinity, not far from Grosch's proposed site. The plan came to nothing but was revived in 1894. Architect Bredo Greve won in a competition in 1897 with a renaissance-inspired proposal.

However, in 1905-06, new ideas began to emerge regarding the location. The Hammersborg idea was abandoned in favour of Vika, in tune with the emerging maritime identity of the city.  

The project finally started to materialise after 1915 when an official decision was made to to place it in Vika. At the time, it was thought it would be ready for the city's 300 year anniversary in 1924. It was also decided to use the project as an opportunity to completely rebuild this slum-ridden part of town. 

The architectural competition went through two stages, first in 1917 when initial proposals were delivered, and in 1918 when the final proposals were ready. The initial proposal by Arneberg and Poulsen entitled Vaar brought them to the final stage of the competition.

The main competitors were Bjercke and Eliassen, with a proposal called Hvelv & Bjelke. Both proposals were inspired by the recently built city hall in Stockholm. The architect of that project, as well as the architect of the city hall in Copenhagen, were present in the jury. The Stockholm city hall is still considered one of the best examples of nordic neo-baroque, one of the first self-conscious Scandinavian attempts at indigenous design. The style valued structural integrity, such as the use of exposed brick, and saw to local medieval and renaissance structures for inspiration.

Arnberg and Poulsen revised their initial proposal for the final decision in 1918 and presented an altered project entitled Dag. This is the project that officially won the commission. The new design is neo-gothic.

However, the architects had to wait 13 years before the foundation stone was laid. In the meantime, they worked on a number of revisions, in an effort to keep up with the shifting architectural trends. The basic design principles were changed multiple times, alternating between Italianate versions to the dominant late classical style of the 1920s.

     

The final version was published in 1931 and marks a radical departure though many features were still retained from previous schemes. 

Construction began in February 1933 and the building was topped out by November 1936. The scaffolding was mostly down by 1940. However, The building was not ready for use before 1950, when it was officially inaugurated.

By the start of the 1930s, functionalism became the dominant style in Oslo, and the city hall has occasionally been interpreted as belonging to that movement. However, though it is streamlined in certain respects, the finished product retains an overall historicist theme. A possible functionalist precedent is the Hilversum city hall, by Dudok, in the Netherlands.

The facade facing the harbour takes the Doge’s palace in Venice, as the main source of inspiration, though this was more evident in earlier designs. As such, it follows the tradition established by the city halls of Copenhagen and Stockholm in drawing from Italian models. Italy has one of the longest traditions in Europe of civic representation, and had developed a well-established format for city hall design by the late medieval and renaissance period.

The northern facade may have been inspired by medieval cathedrals, which gives shape to the massive twin towers. A busy thoroughfare existed in front of the southern facade until the late 1980s when the entire area was pedestrianised. 

For more information on historic Oslo, see my book, Det Tapte Kristiania. 

Chateau de Maisons

The Château de Maisons was built from around 1640 to about 1650, by the architect François Mansart for René de Longueil, who was later given the title as Marquis de Maisons. The completion of stables and the gardens took another 20 years or so.

According to a smear against Mansart, the architect razed the entire ground floor in the midst of construction, and decided to start over from scratch. The story is considered plausible given the reputation of the architect as uncompromising in his search for perfection. 

The stables, of which only a grotto now remains, were demolished in the 1830s or 1840s. The design of the stables were similar to the main building and featured a single storey decorated with doric pilasters. The central pavilion had six columns on the ground floor, and above that Corinithian pilasters under a pediment. 

The property was also greatly reduced in size during this period, as then-owner Jacques Lafitte parceled up the surrounding 300-hectare park for development. It was further reduced in size after 1877 when the painter Tilman Grommé took over ownership. The smaller 33-hectare park was subdivided and a wrought iron grille put up to mark the new boundaries of the chateau. The gateway that Mansart designed as an entrance to the greater park still exists at the end of Avenue Eglé.

The garden front is oriented to the southeast toward the Seine, while the forecourt was in the direction of the royal hunting ground of St Germain-en-Laye.

The central staircase is slightly off-centre, which allows for an uninterrupted view through the central axis of the building. The staircase hangs off the walls, with no obvious means of support. Mansart had previously experimented with this model at the Chateau de Balleroy, which he completed in 1636. 

The interior and exterior sculpture is by Jacques Sarazin and his team, which are perhaps best known for the caryatids on the clock pavilion of the Louvre courtyard.

The focal point of the forecourt and garden front is the classical frontispiece. The orders are arranged according to classical principles: Doric on the ground floor, Ionic on the first floor and Corinthian on the attic. A similar superimposition of columns was used at Chateau d'Anet, which Philibert de l'Orme built for Henri II's mistress in 1547-1552. The five part division of the facade into three pavilions (avant-corps) and two recessed sections (arriere-corps) was first introduced at the Louvre during the same period. Another important source of inspiration for Mansart was Salomon de Brosse and his Chateau de Blerancourt from 1612-19).

Low relief sculpture is used throughout the composition, but sparingly overall. It is not by dramatic effect, but by subtle variations that the building achieves its striking effect. The different panes and columns are constantly recessed and projected, yet the façade seems relatively flat, and does not appear baroque in expression. Only the flank of the outer wings are curved.

St. Paul's Cathedral

The cathedral of London, dedicated to Paul the apostle, was originally built in circa 886, on Ludgate Hill, which is the highest point in the city of London.

The episcopal see was actually founded as early as 604, but the location of the first cathedral is not known.

The church on Ludgate Hill was destroyed in 962 due to fire. It is assumed that the church was built in wood. The next cathedral was begun in 962, possibly in stone. However, this structure also succumbed to fire, in 1087.

A Norman style cathedral was begun shortly after the fire, and it is this structure, though heavily modified, which was destroyed in the famous fire of 1666. The new church was completed in 1314. In the meantime, work was delayed by another fire in 1135.

The choir, added in the 1250s, was in the gothic style. The nave and transepts however, were Romanesque and initially built with a timber roof.

Once completed, the cathedral attained a full length of 178 metres. The central spire reached the height of 149 metres in the years 1444 to 1561. Always vulnerable to lightening strikes, no further efforts to rebuild the spire took place after that year.

Inigo Jones, the man credited as the first English architect to introduce classical architecture to Britain, produced a proposal for a re-design of the cathedral’s west front in 1620.

The cathedral had been in bad shape since Elizabethan times, but funds were not immediately available. In 1634, however, Jones was appointed surveyor of a commission to repair St. Paul’s.

Jones restored the gothic choir without alterations, but encased the rest of the structure in rusticated masonry. The biggest change was at the west front, where Jones added a 10-column wide portico surmounted with statues. The model for this was probably Palladio’s drawings of the Roman temple of the Sun and Moon, now believed to have been dedicated to Venus and Rome. One of the towers of the west front originally belonged to the adjacent church of St. Gregory by St. Paul’s. A second tower was added for the sake of symmetry.

Jones travelled to Italy and became influenced by the works of Andrea Palladio. He also got the opportunity to study Roman ruins. What is noteworthy in the case of Jones is that he rejected modern architectural trends (mannerism/baroque) in favour of a relatively pure classical style, which approximated ancient Roman buildings. This tendency had a profound impact on 18th century English architecture and also decided the basic theme for Christopher Wren’s cathedral.

Jones’ restoration was interrupted by the civil war, during which some damages was inflicted on the building. A commission was therefore set up to undertake repairs and restoration in 1663. Three individual assessments were solicited, including one from Christopher Wren.

The weakest point of the structure was the central tower. Wren, therefore, proposed to tear it down and replace it with a tall dome over the crossing.  The design of the dome seems to have been inspired by Bramante’s proposal for St. Peter’s, which Wren likely knew through drawings. There are also some signs of French influence. Paris was the only foreign city Wren actually visited.

The rest of the structure was to be encased in masonry, “after the good Roman manner”, on the same lines as Jones’ project. Wren’s proposal was agreed in principle in August 1666. Only six days later, the great fire of London began.

By 1668, the issue of what to do with the cathedral had become more pressing than ever. However, the hope in that year was still to retain the nave. Wren was initially only instructed to demolish the choir and central tower. Only after parts of the nave collapsed in April were the authorities persuaded to build an entirely new church.

Wren produced several drawings in the period leading up to the Great Model in 1673. He seems to have experimented with two basic outlines: One scheme, which Wren gradually rejected, kept the outline of the old church and was fairly similar to the 1666 proposal, with a domed space above the crossing and the rest of the church in Roman masonry. Wren also seems to have wanted to keep the portico, which had been added to the west front by Inigo Jones.

The second scheme introduced the Greek cross plan, and is what Wren eventually came to favour. Designs usually feature a pedimented portico on the west front and a large dome over the central space. The precedent for this outline comes from Bramante’s and/or Michelangelo’s plans for St. Peter’s Basilica. Interestingly, Wren who was familiar with French architecture looked to primarily to Roman models. Most likely, this was due to the influence of Jones and architectural treatises.

Wren produced several drawings but the Great Model shows the project at its most mature stage.   The exterior and interior has a Corinthian order, as does the portico, and the large dome resembles Sangallo’s design for St. Peter’s. Unlike previous drawings, there is a domed vestibule in the west, which gives the model the outward appearance of being directional. The pediments at the transepts are broken by arches, adding a touch of mannerism. The model was made by the joiner William Cleere.

However, the Greek plan was rejected by church authorities. In the warrant design that Wren produced and got approved in 1675, he, therefore, reverted to a directional Latin Cross plan. The warrant design appears to be an attempt to reconcile classical elements with the outline of what an English public might expect of a cathedral: more height for the body of the building and an imposing tower and spire.

The result looked very strange, and Wren began to revise his plans as soon construction began. However, the concept of combining classical features with patterns borrowed from gothic churches remained.

The first change was to reintroduce the dome. However, this caused some difficulties, because it had too be tall enough to meet the expectations for a London landmark, yet not so large as to overwhelm the relatively small body of the building itself. It can be seen from the Great Model how this might look awkward.

The solution was to raise the second storey introduced in the warrant design and build a screen wall around the entirety of the structure. This also had the added advantage of hiding away flying buttresses. This is why the external walls of St. Paul’s do not recede inwards at the level of the clerestory. The west front portico was elevated to two levels and towers were introduced to hide the sham wall. Difficulties with lighting the interior through two external walls seem to have been effectively overcome.

It was also around 1675 that Wren redesigned the transept elevations, with huge circular porticos. To this would later be added broken pediments and pilasters decorated with strips of garlands, showing signs of both French and Italian baroque architecture.

The penultimate design of 1675 conforms approximately to the finished result. However, two elements were still in development, the western towers and the dome.

In 1683, Wren seems to have experimented with French designs, resembling closely the domes of Mansart and Lemercier. However, by the time construction of the dome began in 1700, he had switched to what is essentially Bramante’s Tempietto on a massive scale.  Wren filled in every fourth inter-columnation with an empty niche to retain harmony. The difference this produces can be seen by comparing with the Pantheon in Paris where no such expedient is used.

The dome has three shells, one semi-circular seen from the interior (in brickwork), one cone-shaped to support the weight of the lantern (also in brickwork), and one outer wood and lead structure to give the external silhouette.

For the towers, Wren moved in the opposite direction, away from the classical simplicity of Bramante towards a baroque complexity similar in style to Borromini.

The cathedral was structurally complete in 1709. Some of the later work was done without the authorisation of Wren. He was dismissed from his post in 1718 in a Churchill-like vote of no confidence.

YMCA, Tottenham Court Road, London

This image aims to visualise a rebuilding in Tottenham Court Road (112 Great Russell Street). I believe the present YMCA structure was built in 1976. The previous building was completed in 1912.

Johanneskirken, Oslo

Johanneskirken was a church in central Oslo, built on the city's oldest surviving square: Christiania Torv. It was built in 1875 and demolished in 1930. The church had issues with poor foundations since the beginning and was closed for safety reasons. The plot was used by a petrol station for much of the 20th century, but it was replaced with a post-modern business complex in 1996. The plot also contained a church in the period between 1639 to 1686, which at the time was the city's cathedral. The architect for Johanneskirken was Georg Bull. 

The image above is an attempt to visualise how the church might look if it was still standing today. 

For more information about historic Oslo, buy my book, Det Tapte Kristiania, here.

St. Peter's Basilica: Sangallo

St Peter’s basilica was still a demolition site when Bramante passed away in 1514. The architect had had been relieved from his duties the year before when his patron Pope Julius died. Since then, the project had passed through a number of hands: Raphael, Fra Giocondo and Baldassare Peruzzi. However, it was the powerful Florentine family of architects and engineers, da Sangallo, which would finally be entrusted with the future development of the project.

In fact, the pope’s chief architect had originally been a member of the family. At the time that Bramante’s project was chosen, Giuliano da Sangallo had been so confident of winning the commission that he prematurely moved his entire family to Rome. He was called back a decade later in 1514, but only lived long enough to see 18 months on the job.

However, as Raphael died in 1520 at the age of 37 and as Peruzzi eventually fell off after the sack of Rome in 1527, his nephew Antonio da Sangallo the younger gradually became the new capo maestro.

In 1539, Pope Paul III commissioned a modelling wood, which can still be seen in the Vatican Museum today. It shows the direction of Sangallo’s ideas and also sums up many of the turnarounds in the project that had occurred over the last three decades since the original inception. For instance, whether to choose a Greek or a Latin cross plan was a point every new architect seemed destined to reverse.

Sangallo produced something of a hybrid, though its outward appearance is clearly directional. With the dominant front towers, the facade appears more like a classical take on a gothic cathedral than an Italian basilica. This may have been chosen to give back a sense of monumental scale after making the dome recede from the west front.

On all sides of the structure da Sangallo placed a series of arches between engaged columns supporting an entablature, a concept that had been used on modern buildings in modified form by Bramante and Alberti, but which is ultimately derived from the Coliseum or Theatre Marcellus.

As such, especially when contrasted with the later amendments by Michelangelo, da Sangallo appears as a late high renaissance rather than mannerist artist. At the same time as Michelangelo was developing the double order, da Sangallo stuck with a more orthodox formula. The same contrast can be seen in the Farnese palace, which was also later modified by Michelangelo. As projected by da Sangallo, the building would have been a classically conscious and correct rendition of a Florentine palazzo. Subtly though it appears, Michelangelo turned to contrast where da Sangallo sought regularity and harmony.

Despite this, Sangallo’s St. Peter’s appears cluttered in style and structurally complex.

Antonio da Sangallo the younger died in Florence in 1546 and the project passed to a reluctant Michelangelo.

New Gaiety Theatre, Aldwych, London

The Gaiety Theatre was originally established in 1864 as the Strand Musick Hall. The first building was demolished in 1903 to make way for the Edwardian re-development of Aldwych-Kingsway and to accommodate the widening of the Strand. The New Gaiety Theatre opened the same year. The theatre closed in 1939 and never reopened. It was demolished in 1956, due to structural damage received from the war, attempts at refurbishment were abandoned. A new luxury hotel is currently being constructed on the plot, The Silken hotel.

As with most of the earliest buildings of Aldwych-Kingsway, the theatre was built in a rather fanciful interpretation of the French Beaux-Arts style.