Our art and architecture

The Frescati Library was created by architect Ralph Erskine. The library has a large number of works of art, both older and modern works.

Stockholm University Library, also known as the Frescati Library, was designed by Ralph Erskine and inaugurated in 1983. It is centrally located on Campus Frescati at Stockholm University and is linked to Södra huset via a large entrance hall. 

The Frescati Library celebrates 40 years 2023

Photo: Cecilia Burman

The facade to the north has been angled to provide a view towards the nature of Djurgården, and to the east it has been divided into a clover shape that surrounds an oak grove. Along the western facade, four balconies stick out like command bridges on a ship. The building stands out in the landscape with its long and shiny steel roof and two towers.

Photo: Cecilia Burman
 

Architecture of the Frescati Library

Stockholm University has always been considered a modern university as opposed to older, more traditional universities. The library building reflects this through its openness and comfort, which is characterized by the large open indoor landscape. Erskine designed the library to resemble an inviting living room with comfortable furniture, balconies to enjoy the sun, and a cafe next to the entrance. The open spaces on the entrance floor and upper floor, as well as the three atriums, provide daylight to the main body of the house.

Photo: Lena Katarina Johansson

During 2013-2015, the Frescati Library underwent a renovation and reconstruction. It was important to preserve Erskine's inspiring environment with light, space and interaction with the surrounding nature, while the study and workplaces needed to be modernized to correspond with today's working methods.

On the entrance floor there are now larger areas for group work and discussion. There is also an information desk and machines for loans and returns, group study rooms and rooms for guidance and support.

The library's upper-level houses most of the open collections and the quieter study areas. The different study areas are screened off from the open spaces by rows of bookshelves and group rooms so that rooms are formed within rooms, which contributes to the calm environment. The bookshelves form two intersecting main lines. The north-south road, “The Book Path”, is a tall room with pleasant light from high windows.

Photo: Cecilia Burman
 

Ralph Erskine (1914-2005) was a British architect who lived and worked in Sweden most of his life. Ralph Erskine was one of the leading figures in Swedish architecture during a large part of the 20th century. His work was recognized internationally and was honoured with several awards. His architecture is characterized by consideration for the environment and having nature influence the design of the buildings. The Frescati Library is a clear example of this as it carefully surrounds the small oak grove close by.

At Campus Frescati, he has also created Allhuset (1980), Juristernas hus (1991) and Aula Magna (1997).

 

Artwork in the Frescati Library

Ever since the new university area at Frescati was created in the 1970s, artistic embellishments in the buildings and on the campus have been a natural feature. The artworks are intended to harmonize with the architecture, aiming to enrich and illuminate the public space.

Frescati Library houses a significant number of artworks, ranging from older to more contemporary pieces. Most of these are owned by the Public Art Agency Sweden, which, in consultation with the library and the university's art curator, has loaned the art to this well-visited space where it can be appreciated by many. Here are some of the artworks in the Frescati Library.

Learn more about the art collections on campus

The bronze sculpture "Private Venus" (2002) takes the form of a small dog, friendly and vigilant, sitting in the atrium that serves as the entrance to the library. It is passed by thousands of visitors daily and is a small, yet significant, figure in the library's environment

Above the wall at the main entrance to the library, there are "Wall Paintings" by Kerstin Abram-Nilsson (1931–1998). The motif, a light green jungle of orchids, reappears inside the library, on the wall near the internal elevator shaft.

"The idea with the wall is that one should remember – in the midst of the verbal culture – that knowledge must be embraced not only by the intellect but by the whole personality. Knowledge must be experienced. And reevaluated... We must be careful and take care of what seems to be nothing, so that it can continue, so that it can retain its courage to live. Where the wall turns inward towards the library, there is a rare orchid, a tropical form that can – if given the right life air and the right opportunities – grow in our northern latitudes all the way beyond the Arctic Circle. If the opportunities exist, it happens. A library is an opportunity."

This is quoted from the artist Kersti Abram-Nilsson in the book "Stockholm University Library 25 Years."
 

In one of the library's atriums, there is "Rational Decision Made on 19/4 2014 at 11:47 AM in the Span of a Fraction of a Second," a thread sculpture made of reinforcing steel, with a total length of approximately 700 meters. The sculpture is attached to a beam from a footbridge.

"I wanted to make something definite out of what was unspecified. Create a space for it, instead of letting it be invisible. The reinforcing steel, which forms the skeleton of a building, a durable, solid, and sustainable material, was used to create three-dimensional traces, shape the space, and reveal the hiding. What seems vague and indefinite may need to be made firm, obvious, and take up space, just like a thought one has carried for a long time that suddenly becomes a decision," said the artist Leontine Arvidsson about her work.
 

The sculpture, made of mixed materials, is placed at the far end of the entrance level in a plexiglass box hanging on the wall. Like many of Ekstrand's works, this piece consists of taxidermied animals – in this case, a bird of prey clutching a dead female duck in its talons – surrounded by flowers, feathers, and dolls, creating macabre contrasts between life and death.

The wood sculpture "The Battle between Angels and Birds" (1972–1974) which was previously located in the entrance hall of Södra Huset, just outside the library, is now situated in one of the atriums on the entrance level. Renqvist drew inspiration for the piece from the ruins of Berlin's city hall, which burned down in 1933.

"It occurs to me that angels and birds are related beings, so war is unnecessary. But it occurs, and therefore, the Battle between Angels and Birds is an apocalypse," says Renqvist in the book "Stockholm University Library 25 Years."

Other sculptures by Torsten Renqvist remain outside the library, including "The Kangaroo" (1978–79), which has become a focal point and meeting place in the large entrance hall.
 

Everything changes, and everything returns to the cycle. This is what Hilda Hellström focuses on in her work, narrating the story of the diatomaceous algae. She explores how they die, transform, and give rise to new life. Silicon, in particular, is linked to Stockholm and the university in several ways. Jacob Berzelius, who discovered the element silicon, was a professor at the Karolinska Institute and secretary at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Stockholm University hosts several contemporary research projects related to diatomaceous algae.

Hilda Hellström works on the border between sculpture and craftsmanship, often using unconventional materials. She primarily engages in casting processes, and her work references geology, archaeology, and mythology, making them particularly suitable for a university setting. In her creative process, she incorporates the will of the material and leaves a significant part of the process to gravity. She sees this as a critique of the worldview that places humans at the center of all relationships.

The artwork was commissioned by the Public Art Agency Sweden and was specifically created for its location in the library's atrium.
 

 

Contact

For Stockholm University Art Collections: Curator, Ph.D. Camilla Hjelm

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