Locus Sacer & Nordic Archetypes: architectural experiences through an existential, collective memory

Abstract

This thesis explores various Nordic archetypes in the architectural and landscape designs of Swedish modernists, such as Sigurd Lewerentz, Erik Gunnar Asplund, and Peter Celsing. Applying the ideas of existentialist and phenomenological philosophers to this exploration, the thesis proposes a particularly Nordic relationship to the originality of the natural and the sacred place. By transcending a visual symbolism and arriving at their essence, the archetypes can be understood as being part of Sweden’s collective memory, existentially ingrained in history and a sense of place. The thesis then further analyzes the author’s hypothetical design project for an historical park in Göteborg, reflecting on its relationship to these Nordic archetypes and the site’s unique history. Through its experiential presence, the park becomes an embodied program of the “serious picnic,” in the balance of the natural, the mundane, and the sacred.