Drawings from the Stockholm Archives

An Attempt to Reconstruct the Swedish Experience of Architects France and Marta Ivanšek

Abstract

Slovene architectural history often mentions the architects France and Marta Ivanšek as ‘ambassadors’ of Swedish culture. From Scandinavia they brought a number of models which proved to be crucial for the improvement of housing standards such as the idea of low-rise high-density housing (e.g. the Murgle development in Ljubljana), Scandinavian modern kitchen design (SVEA) and the Barva in Oblika (‘Colour and Form’) courses on the Swed- ish Natural Colour System and its applicatibility in design, architecture and textile industry. Numerous researchers of post-war Slovenian architecture have mentioned France and Marta Ivanšek’s Swedish experience, but the topic has not yet been researched or presented in detail. This article seeks to provide an insight into the years the architects spent in Stockholm. Based on primary sources from the Stockholm archives, the architects’ own records and correspondence, it reconstructs their stay and work in Stockholm.