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Document Details : Title: Funkis aan de Heizel Subtitle: Het Zweedse paviljoen en de publieke promotie van architectuur en decoratieve kunsten op de wereldtentoonstelling van 1935 te Brussel Author(s): HUPKES, Jelrik Journal: Tijdschrift voor Interieurgeschiedenis en Design Volume: 46 Date: 2024 Pages: 87-104 DOI: 10.2143/GBI.46.0.3293685 Abstract : Despite the great impact that Swedish functionalism, also known as funkis, has had in Europe, research on the public promotion of functionalist architecture and design in Western Europe, and more specifically Belgium, is very limited. The Swedish pavilion at the Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles of 1935 marked the country’s first participation in a World’s Fair with a functionalist pavilion. But what functionalist architecture and decorative arts did the Swedish pavilion promote? And how does the public promotion of this functionalist design fit into a socio-political and economic context? During the 1930s, Sweden increasingly began to raise its profile internationally. Around that same time, the 'Swedish model' made its appearance, and the functionalist style soon became the aestheticisation of this political concept. At the 1935 World’s Fair, this resulted for the first time in a functionalist design of the Swedish pavilion. Designed by architect Peder Clason, the pavilion championed a pure and austere but at the same time organic aesthetic. The pavilion also featured a wide variety of functionalist-style decorative arts on display. These were mostly rather luxurious everyday objects, such as glassware, porcelain, furniture jewellery and textiles by prominent designers and factories. The functionalist design of the pavilion served not only to promote a new style but also played an important role in a policy of cultural diplomacy seeking to promote both Swedish exports and the 'Swedish model' outside Sweden. Trade organisation SGAE, the driving force behind the pavilion, secured the cooperation of more than a hundred different companies seeking international exposure for their products. At the same time, a number of cultural organisations were also involved, and the organisation received support from the Swedish government. Astrid of Sweden, the fourth queen of Belgium, was recognised in the press as a symbolic link between the Swedish pavilion and the Belgian population, and thus became a vital component of Sweden’s cultural diplomacy. Not only did the functionalist design embody and promote a set of societal ideals, but it received ample praise simply for its aesthetics. The functionalist design of the Swedish pavilion and its decorative arts thus marks the first large-scale public promotion of Swedish functionalism in Belgium. However, this cannot be separated from a socio-political and economic dimension which, through architecture and decorative arts, sought to promote Swedish exports and the Swedish model. The pavilion did not do this through radical design or a certain monumentality, but through an organic functionalist design. In this way, the pavilion showed a glimpse of a new vision of the design of everyday life. |
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