Staying true to his formula is architect Kjell Forshed’s ’architectural memoir’. The formula of his book contains concepts such as low and dense, proximity, small scale, integrity, light, shadow, transparency, movement and colour. In the book, Kjell Forshed presents in detail twenty of his projects, which are located all over the country, and explains why he designed environments in a certain way. He reflects on the Million Dollar Programme and why architects are not allowed to create nice and beautiful things.He also shares his craft in getting his thoughtful, scaled design projects built, especially when such projects are challenged by limited financial resources and an abundance of technical requirements. You will follow his work with the pen over more than fifty years. How he visits the area he is working on, several times, to understand how his paper drawings fit into the site where the homes are to be built. How he changes and redraws to capture the soul of the place. How he makes crooked streets, small gardens facing the street, more garden space towards the back and walkways.The book is richly illustrated with photographs and drawings of garden cities, apartments and houses. You get an insight into how he works with, for example, light conditions and planning of both outdoor and indoor environments. In this book, you will learn about the concrete work with exactly what has been the formula he has been faithful to.
Quote from the book
I ́ve been drawing in all possible scales: low, tall, sparse, dense, comprehensive plans, cityplans, buildings, and apartments all the way down to their plinth moldings. But what I enjoy the most and like the best is the low and dense urban construction. You ́re able to create rooms of buildings, planks, fences, walls, hedges, and trees. It ́s really like drawing a single large apartment. I usually imagine living in each home and check the patios, corners, views, leveldifferences, sun, shadow. Then I walk around every street, into every alley, make a stop in the park, come to the squares and other places. I do all of this in my inner vision. It takes a lot of practice to translate sketches into images in your head without aida. But it ́s then you dream, and everything can be beautiful.
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