Sigurd Lewerentz, Pure Aesthetics

St Mark’s Church in Björkhagen, one of Stockholm’s southern districts, is one of Sigurd Lewerentz’s (1885–1975) key designs. In contrast to Lewerentz’s other famous church, St Peter’s in Klippan, no book has been published to date that constitutes a fitting tribute to this masterpiece of brick brutalism.

This new building monograph now opulently and carefully fills this gap. Some 200 newly taken color photographs and especially drawn explanatory plans, alongside essays by distinguished authorities on Lewerentz’s arechitecture, make this book a visual feast. It demonstrates the exquisitely atmospheric St Mark’s Church as a whole and its embedment in the urban landscape. Moreover, it highlights many details, such as floor coverings, furnishings, lamps, banisters, the altar, and other liturgical features. The essays explore aspects of materiality and topics such as the church’s special acoustics and atmosphere in an attempt to reveal the secret of Sigurd Lewerentz’s church designs.