Monument & miljö : perspektiv på det tidiga 1900-talets byggnadsvård i Sverige

Doctoral thesis, 1992

The fundamental aim of this thesis is to survey the ways in which historical factors were considered in building conservation, building activities and town planning during the first decades of the twentieth century. The main concern is the ways these factors were introduced in legislation and governmental organisation. The thesis contains a discussion on the partly parallel work of two government commissions both of which dealt with the organisation of historical building conservation. Three different aspects of the work of the two commissions are presented in this thesis: selection, protection and organisation. Three private associations dealing with building conservation and renewal are presented. Their members were largely professional architects, building conservationists and historians, and they often had virtually official sanction for their actions. The book also gives some examples of how historical values were considered in town planning. Conservation and the growth of historical knowledge grew into a force counteracting the negative aspects of urban development and there was a mobilisation to shape and conduct the new town. Historical factors were used as the basis of a wide range of official actions for maintaining public control of building practices. This was done even outside the core of the institutions of historical conservation. Different possibilities were tested and the specific tasks of the various professions were not yet determined. Beginning around 1910, the concept of "local preservation" (hembygdsvård) functioned as a lever for people working in different professions: architects, historical researchers, conservationists, building conservationists and museum staff. By relating their practices to this concept they could strengthen their professional positions. Two typical orientations of historical interest, partly following the limits of professional division, can be distinguished - one preservation-oriented and one design-oriented.