Manor house restorations by Isak Gustaf Clason 1888–1930

Manor house restorations by isak Gustaf Clason 1888–1930 Swedish architect Isak Gustaf Clason (1856–1930) was the leading expert of his time for the conservation of manor houses and also for designing new manor houses and large villas. He was considered a leader for the architectural community and worked with many different types of building projects. He was also a professor of architecture and held important positions in the national building administration. Most of Clason’s energy, however, was focused on manor houses. These often uncomfortable, sometimes abandoned, houses were transformed into comfortable, prestigious, luxury homes for the economic elite of the time. This study aims to answer questions about how Clason developed his restoration practice throughout his career, how he evaluated the old buildings and what defined the goals in his projects. Other questions include: who were his clients? Why did they choose Clason? How did the designs evolve, and how did they relate to the general architectural ideals of the time? A Clason manor house project had a consistent design with historical references and, at the same time, it provided for a comfortable and modern home according to English ideals. He used a restrained design and worked to harmonize facades, volumes and interiors. In order to execute such a program, much of the existing character of the house could be lost. After 1900 the discussion of architectural conservation turned towards preserving historic houses, which led to criticism of Clason’s rather invasive methods. The ideology for architectural conservation shifted as specialists in conservation and art history were becoming more important. Clason gradually adopted the new ideals, and through the years he developed a strong sense for historical Swedish architecture. As an architect he remained open to new ideas, and his later work is strongly influenced by the design of a younger generation. Keywords Isak Gustaf Clason, Swedish architecture 19th and 20th century, architectural conservation, architectural restoration, historic house conservation, manor house, manor garden, economic eliteQC 20180522