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Film Screening: Lewerentz Divine Darkness

W.M. Keck Lecture Hall
February 05, 2025 at 6:00pm

Sigurd Lewerentz is one of the most famous Swedish architects, considered a master of the profession internationally. His unique solutions were decades ahead of their time. Lewerentz did not want to be filmed or interviewed. His person, like his buildings, is surrounded by a mysterious aura. But in a root cellar in Lund, there is an unknown treasure. Film reels and audio tapes recorded by the architect Bernt Nyberg with Lewerentz during his last years are stored here.

From the cellar, a cultural-historical journey begins, where the stylistic traces of Lewerentz within Nordic architecture become palpable. Classicism and modernism converge in a poetic brutality that awakens our deepest and most archaic cultural memories.

The film provides a valuable perspective, encouraging SCI-Arc audience to consider their personal context in relation to external forces that shape architectural philosophy. It showcases examples of productive resistance, demonstrating how architects can fulfill their roles while advancing the profession through innovative technical and material strategies that are both cutting-edge and rich in historical references. For deeper understanding the film offers unprecedented insights, presenting first-hand oral histories that provide new context to Lewerentz's work—details that have never before been illuminated. This offers a closer understanding of the architect's life, which has previously been studied only from a distance.

This event is free and open to the public.