{"id":34888,"date":"2026-01-14T14:24:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T13:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arkdes.se\/?post_type=collection&p=34888"},"modified":"2026-01-15T11:54:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T10:54:03","slug":"ralph-erskines-collection","status":"publish","type":"collection","link":"https:\/\/arkdes.se\/en\/the-collection\/the-collection-that-shaped-modern-sweden\/ralph-erskines-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"Ralph Erskine\u2019s Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Ralph Erskine, 1914\u20132005. Photographer: unknown. ArkDes collection.<\/i>\n \n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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One of the most prolific architects represented in the ArkDes collection is Ralph Erskine (1914\u20132005). The collection comprises around 60,000 items and spans from the 1930s to the early 2000s. Running as a common thread through Erskine\u2019s drawings, sketches and models is a vibrant creativity and a determination to shape architecture with people at its centre.<\/p>\n

In 1986, ArkDes (then the Architecture Museum) received the first donation from the 72-year-old architect Ralph Erskine. His career was far from over, and for several decades thereafter so-called \u201csubsequent deliveries\u201d arrived regularly, consisting of sketches, models, drawings and photographs. The collection is in high demand among researchers. His folders are often seen on one of the tables in the ArkDes Study Room.<\/p>\n

Ralph Erskine was born in London in 1914, where he also trained as an architect. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, he travelled to Sweden by bicycle. He was drawn to what was happening in Sweden,
\nwhere the Social Democratic construction of the welfare state was in full swing. Erskine would go on to become one of Sweden\u2019s most influential architects of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n

The collection contains many \u201clively\u201d sketches that appear to have been produced at great speed. Not infrequently, a small note can be seen, such as \u201cthis doesn\u2019t look good\u201d, or a comment on the weather. A floating hot air balloon often appears in his illustrations. It became his hallmark and lent the drawings a more playful and animated character.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n