Directions in Time

Helena Heymowska is an architect and independent researcher. Her project, Directions in Time, examines how Swedish architects’ perspectives on history have changed since 1990. It focuses on how attitudes toward existing buildings and environments have influenced how they are restored, renovated, and transformed.

Interest in architectural conservation has historically come in waves. During the more intense restoration debates of the twentieth century, Helgo Zettervall, Erik Lundberg, and Ove Hidemark were particularly influential in shaping the field’s development. Since then, public debate on restoration in Sweden has been relatively subdued. At the same time, significant technological advances have been made, and governance by public authorities and regulatory frameworks has become increasingly detailed. The project examines how these developments have affected architects’ approaches to restoration in practice.

By comparing photographs, drawings, and texts from the collection, the project seeks to identify what characterizes Swedish restoration architecture since 1990. A central question is whether, despite the absence of prominent contemporary voices shaping the debate, it is possible to identify a Swedish canon of restoration following the end of the Cold War.