The Printed and the Built is a research based elective course, studying the relationship between architecture and the popular press in the 19th and 20th centuries. Looking particularly at the way the dwelling has been represented in popular, illustrated publications, we examine changing ideals of the home as they are played out in buildings and journals alike. The course will curate and produce an exhibition on this topic, to be shown at the Architecture Museum in the spring 2018.

 THEMATIC BACKGROUND

“We live and move and have our being in print» proclaimed the English writer Abraham Howard in 1843. The statement was prompted by the period’s extraordinary growth in publications: newspapers, journals, and illustrated magazines addressing an entirely new readership. Architecture formed a central part of this new publication culture. The illustrated press was full to the brim of architectural images: buildings, cities, ancient monuments, and modern projects. The new press had also another architectural dimension, moreover, as a new public space. As the French editor Hippolyte Fortoul put it: “The press is the public square of the modern age”.

Like most other European countries, Norway was marked by this development. On the pages of Skilling-Magazin, Illustreret Nyhedsblad, Norsk Folkeblad, and Ny Illustreret Tidende, the readers could follow road- and railway projects, urban growth and industrial developments, monuments and institutions popping up all over the country. Housing plays a prominent role in this coverage. Be it the bourgeoisie tenements along Karl Johan, rural dwellings in Northern Norway, or workers housing in Grünerløkka, the press took a lively interest in the housing question. New and old dwelling types were shown in beautiful, detailed wood engravings, often accompanied by critical debate and commentary.

This course rummages the 19th century illustrated press, hunting for a rich but forgotten architectural material. It is a material full of surprises, challenging our standard architectural history and enriching our knowledge of Norwegian housing development.