Klas Anshelm

Born in 1914, Klas Anshelm was the oldest of the architects introduced in this issue and the one with the most comprehensive œuvre. He designed around one hundred new buildings, most of which are in Lund. Anshelm was an architect of continuity, firmly anchored to tradition and the region. He was able to develop the qualities of the place further and to interpret them anew in a quiet but effective way. A further characteristic was his highly rational way of working. On the planning level this is shown by the way he always kept his team small, in terms of architecture by his preference for modular, repetitively built-up structures and restriction to just a few materials. Another characteristic is the moment of surprise: with all of Anshelm’s projects you can find in the plan or the section, in the urban design approach, in the use of a material or in the detailing one or a number of surprising ideas which make the design into something special and unique.