I was recently told by a friend that there existed a large telephone tower made of steel, (kind of like a square Eiffel tower) in Stockholm during the first half of the 20th century and after a short google run, this is what i found:
Apparently it was built in 1887, at a time when there were about 5500 telephones in Stockholm. Each of these telephones were connected to a wire that would leave the house or apartment suspended on small steel hooks and angles. It would make its way through the narrow streets of 19th century Stockholm eventually ending up in the tower. At the base of the tower, in the building it stood on, was a great hall where rows of telephone operators would connect the incoming signal to whatever outgoing cable the caller asked for. The signal would then leave the great tower, once again passing through the streets and leaping across the roofs, eventually reaching the house of the recipient.
The tower, acting like a full scale diagram, explains perfectly to anybody looking at it, the logic behind the telephone system. Imagine what the internet would look like, illustrated like this. Or how it would sound!
In a complaint sent in to one of the larger news papers at the time, a concerned resident of Stockholm complains about “obehaget af den olidliga musik, som telefontrådar kunna åstadkomma, och många hafva nog lidit af deras nervskakande disharmonier”. (I found this quote on a blog and haven’t been able to validate it, but it is so well put that I decided to post it) In short, it’s about the “nerve wrecking disharmonies” that the wind blowing through the web of cables produced.
By 1913, all the telephone wires in Stockholm had been put underground and the tower was left as a landmark and monument. In the 50’s, sadly, a fire in the building bellow forced it’s demolition and the towers sillhouette in the Stockholm cityscape was, in time, forgotten.
More images and information (in swedish) at the website of the telephone museum of Stockholm.
/Rutger
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Posted: April 11th, 2009
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New magazine “Cities the magazine” kicked of the production of their first issue with a workshop held this monday at gallery Detroit (Roslagsgatan 21, Stockholm).
The magazine will focus on different urban conditions and peculiarities around the world and the staff are constantly looking for new contributors. From the website:
“We don’t want to hand you a tourist guide.
We don’t want to show you the last renderings of the best architects.
We don’t want to provide the latest trends and design concepts.
We don’t want to update you on the current fashion weeks and art openings.
We want to speak about cities.”
So, if you are interested in breaking up the printed intellectual monoculture of Sweden, write a great piece about cities and send it to them or simply visit their website at www.citiesthemagazine.com and get the first issue when it gets released.
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Posted: March 12th, 2009
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(To the right, Joel Jouannet is counting votes. Next to him, the winning proposal)
When the snow falls heavily on the streets of Stockholm, turning instantly into grey sticky sleet, it is nice to be able to write about some good things that are happening in the city.
Last wednesday the first round of International Architectural Battle was fought at the School of Architecture and some of us from Svensk Standard were lucky enough to be competing. Organized by Joel Jouannet, as a part of his masters thesis, the concept of the battle is simple yet exciting.
There are four teams, one site/task and one hour to produce a material that will be presented during three minutes, then the audience decide who the winner will be.
The battle was fierce and the audience ecstatic. The hall was filled with all kinds of weird energies and the resulting proposals were visionary to say the least. But what was really interesting was all that happened before the projects were presented and the winner was chosen. The architects usually hidden behind a desk or a computer screen became performers and suddenly architecture was all about joy and happiness. Maybe it was because of the beer or maybe it was because there simply is no time to be boring when you only have an hour to produce(/perform).
In the end activities like this are badly needed in Stockholm and it’s great to be reminded that architecture really is about having fun.
Visit the website at http://internationalarchitecturalbattle.blogspot.com
(Oh, by the way, we won)
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Posted: March 11th, 2009
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Perhaps the greatest architect ever, Sir Ken Adam is little known compared to the images of his work.
Being the creator of the “war-room” scenography from Dr. Stranglove and virtually all James Bond sets from Dr. No up untill the late 70’s (including the pinacle of bond-villain-lairs in “The spy who loved me”) , his work has been and continues to be an awsome resource of inspiration for architectural creation all over the world.
Read an interview at:
http://www.berlinale-talentcampus.de/story/19/1519.html
and watch the flickr set at:
http://flickr.com/photos/blackbeltjones/sets/72157608760312212/
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Posted: November 14th, 2008
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Some of the 123 proposals for art in public space (including monument no. 5) are exhibited at Galleri K1 in Kulturhuset, Stockholm. The exhibition will be there until november 23. The competition was held by Eva Bonniers donationsnämnd. Go there if you are in Stockholm in november.
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Posted: November 9th, 2008
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Being shut out from the school of architecture, Svensk Standard and friends find refuge at the ateliers of the Royal Art Academy in Stockholm.
Greatness will arrive in August!
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Posted: July 13th, 2008
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Nya projekt,
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Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Architecture And Morality
Guru – Respect The Architect
Diplomatic Shit – Evil Architecture
Xingu Hill & Squaremeter – Negative Architecture
Kate Bush – An Architects Dream
Einstürzende Neubauten – Architektur ist Geiselnahme
John Foxx & Harold – Momentary Architecture
Herman Düne – Little Architect
The Stnnng – I Am An Architect
Layton – The Architecture Of A Sunset
The Decemberist – Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect
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Posted: April 21st, 2008
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Härmed är produktionskollektivet Svensk Standards blogg startad
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Posted: February 10th, 2008
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