Swedish Grace: How Housing Cooperatives Kickstarted in 1920s Stockholm
by Jan Rydén Bonmot
LECTURE
Friday 19th April, 2024
18:30
Location:
luca - Luxembourg Center for Architecture
1 rue de la Tour Jacob, 1831 Luxembourg
Admission:
Free upon registration
Place Holder
Place Holder
Place Holder
Place Holder
Historical insights as an inspiration to address today’s crisis: a Swedish case study
April Initiative is excited to host its first-ever lecture. Swedish author and artist Jan Rydén Bonmot will offer fresh insights into today’s housing affordability crisis by examining how comparable challenges were tackled in Sweden more than a century ago.
A glimpse into the past: the Swedish model of success
Dive into the pioneering spirit of early 20th-century Stockholm, where a unique blend of citizen initiative and political will led to innovative housing solutions. In this era of crisis, the market-driven real estate development had stopped dead in its tracks, and commercial building activity stopped. This gave room for the co-operative building movement to get going and in a surprisingly brief timeframe, affordable housing with high aesthetic standards was constructed.
Between 1923 and 1927 only, the city witnessed the rise of over 2,500 workers' flats, that featured advanced living standards, including amenities like in-house bathrooms that were revolutionary at the time.
As we navigate today's housing dilemmas, what could we learn from this pioneering movement?
Join us: be inspired by this historic Swedish model of housing success and connect with like-minded peers over drinks and appetisers.
About the Speaker
Meet Jan Rydén Bonmot, a writer, artist, and strategist with deep insights into cooperative housing models. Drawing from his rich experience and research, Jan will guide us through the historical parallels and the transformative potential they hold for our current crisis.
Jan Rydén Bonmot was for several years co-curator at the Stockholm based foundation for art and architecture Färgfabriken, where he organised major exhibitions on art and architecture. He has been Head of Design and Research at Alsike Fastighetsbolag, a municipal development company and a researcher at the School of Architecture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Jan Rydén trained as an economist and historian at Uppsala University, and as an artist at the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm.
Event organised with the support of luca – Luxembourg Center for Architecture.