Was Skarphéðinn Jóhannsson a radical architect?

If so, in what sense?

Abstract

There is no doubt that architecture affects people’s lives. It shapes our movement along the day, frames our visions and relationship between inside – outside. It provides spaces for activities, needs, and leisure. When Skarphéðinn Jóhannnsson was born 1914 in Iceland, the country was based on agrarian principals and with no real city formation. On a smaller scale, a bedroom was not even considered necessary in housing. During his childhood, toilets were scare or non-existing and livestock was common in the village of Reykjavík.

Skarphéðinn opened his office in Reykjavík in 1952, aged 38 years, then an ebonist and architect from Copenhagen, the Kunsthåndværkerskolen (1935-1938) and Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole (1945-1949). He had also worked in Kaare Klint‘s architecture office in Copenhaguen (1950) and spent a year on a Grand Tour in Italy (1951). With such a background, it will be reflected on whether Skarphéðinn‘s proposals can be considered radical in Iceland or revolutionary? Or was he, together with fellow architects, modernising the country and feeling a need elevate the society?

In the Icelandic context, it will be argued that Skarphéðinn surely created typologies responding in radical ways to new demands for a modern society based on relative values.