Bo Bardi & Fehn

The exhibition at the Oslo National Museum presents Lina Bo Bardi’s glasshouse in São Paulo inside Sverre Fehn’s glass pavilion, starting a dialogue between two architects who never met.

The exhibition presents Lina Bo Bardi’s glasshouse in São Paulo, Casa de Vidro (1950–52) inside Sverre Fehn’s glass pavilion (1997–2008). The juxtaposition serves as a starting point for a dialogue between two architects who never met, and who worked in distant corners of the world.

Lina Bo Bardi, Casa de Vidro,São Paulo, 1950-52. Photo Peter Scheier
Lina Bo Bardi, Casa de Vidro,São Paulo, 1950-52. Photo Peter Scheier
Lina Bo Bardi, Casa de Vidro,São Paulo, 1950-52. Photo Peter Scheier
Lina Bo Bardi, Casa de Vidro,São Paulo, 1950-52

  However, there are surprising similarities between their respective oeuvres: the sculptural use of reinforced concrete, their long-standing commitment to rehabilitation projects and adaptive re-use, and their interest in exhibition design.

Sverre Fehn, Villa Norrköping. Photo Teigens fotoatelier, 1964

The two architects also shared an interest in the careful integration of their designs into the surrounding landscape. It seems logically consistent that both architects integrated trees into their buildings: Fehn in the Nordic Pavilion in Venice and Bo Bardi in Casa de Vidro.

Lina Bo Bardi, Casa de Vidro,São Paulo, 1950-52. Photo Francisco Albuquerque