The story of the moral victors?

"I see that it has symbolic value. But I think there are nicer buildings than Høyblokka. I do," stated the minister. Rigmor Aasrud in November 2011. The building has been unused since the terrorist attack on July 22, 2011, while the adjacent buildings, the Y-block and the S-block, have been demolished. Now there is a combined manifesto for a lost cause and documentation of a popular action to preserve the Y-block, which is a significant architectural monument within Norwegian modernism.

Boken Leave the Y standing. About the fight to preserve the Y block is written by Kjersti Hembre and Hanne Sophie Claussen. Both were leaders in the campaign to preserve Wye block. The 431-page book has commitment, and often anger. The battle was lost when Erling Viksjø's building was demolished in 2019–20. But the story of the moral victory is written here: The chapter on the international reaction to the Norwegian demolition drive is particularly thought-provoking: Europa Nostra, UNESCO and ICOMOS – and serious media with a focus such as France Inter, BBC, The New York Times etc. They each express a concern in their own way. Norwegian cultural heritage institutions of various types also do this, in addition to the Planning and Building Department in the Municipality of Oslo. The 67 signatures that exist against demolition should not be forgotten either. The book gives a vivid impression of a commitment that quickly spread, told from the inside.

The modernist architecture

The symbolic value that Aasrud ​​pointed out includes, among other things, the emergence of modern Norway, which in form and action is the foundation on which our prosperity should rest securely. At the same time, the modernist architecturehad a broad appeal, which would have given it protection. 1800th-century public buildings – such as the university buildings on Karl Johan (by Christian H. Grosch, 1851), the Storting (by Carl Emil Langslet, 1866), the National Gallery (by Heinrich Ernst Schirmer and Adolf Schirmer, 1881) and the National Theatre (by Henrik Bull, 1899) have had a broad support, where the buildings have been preserved, regardless of any demands for modernization. Of these, the National Gallery is in a different situation, as parked monumental building. The rescue operation for the National Gallery also had much in common with the rescue operation for the Y-block, where both ended in losses in their own way. A building that is created for a given purpose easily becomes just an outer shell when the purpose no longer works within it.

In recent years, there have also been The architectural revolt has become a visible actor in the public sphere, with its non-modernist ideals. At the time of writing, our most watched television program is a docu-soap about Odd Nerdrum and his family, who fight against the modernist project of the 1900th century.

It is necessary to see the fight for the preservation of the Y-block also as a fight to preserve an architectural structure that our historical consciousness has not yet taken care of. Moreover, modernist material choices are hard-won with many of their less interesting varieties all around. Not everything made of concrete should be preserved, and in that context the action group also lost the fight for one of the more significant national structures in our history.

The architectural work

Architect Erling Viksjø, in collaboration with civil engineer Sverre Jystad, developed what is called "natural concrete", where the concrete is not decorated with natural stone. It itself consists of a large proportion of natural stone (river stone was used in the government quarter), which is sandblasted after casting, so that the natural structure emerges. Civil architect – and Y-advocate – Siri Hoem has called this "super concrete", based on its constructional qualities. The material treatment that the Høyblokka was subjected to in 1958 reached its perfection with the Y-blokka in 1969-70. The sandblasting also functioned as an independent decorative element, not only with regard to the natural stone, but also with the well-known decorations, which were carried out by Carl Nesjar and Pablo Picasso. The former recreated the latter's drawing on the wall, and it is common to credit both as authors. Yet the book documents that descendants of Picasso considers this to be a standalone work by him, and that it is incumbent on them to consider copyright issues in connection with the preservation of these. In such an understanding, the corresponding right-bearing heirs from Nesjar and Viksjø, who wanted the preservation of the Y-block, were set aside. This made it possible to cut out the decorations for mounting elsewhere.

"The heyday of social democracy"

The communication of architecture through photographs is a necessity. In this richly illustrated book, we are reminded of how sharply some photographers have functioned in our recent history. Teigen's photo studio was the most important architectural photographers of the post-war period and is represented by images that express the "glory of social democracy" as much as any text.

It is worth dwelling a little on how Photographyis of an architectural work affects our relationship to it. One of architecture's best communication techniques is the staging of a (good) life through photographs and models. Right at the start, it was clear to Hembre and Claussen in the action group how Statsbygg had used a future scenario filled with sun and blue sky, while the Y-block was the sad grayness.

To develop urban space on a human scale – complete with strollers, sidewalk restaurants and modernist sculptures.

In March 2020, the feature article “The Savings Alternative” was published in Morgenbladet with manipulated images showing bustling public life, surrounded by the sculptural architectural work. In these images, the vision of developing urban space on a human scale is revealed – complete with strollers, sidewalk restaurants and modernist sculptures. Their goal was to influence decision-makers and public opinion. But perhaps a changed economic reality could have had just as much influence? The latest cost estimate for the new buildings (February 2024) amounts to 53,5 billion Norwegian kroner. That is just over 10 kroner per person in this country, before possible budget overruns. In comparison, the new buildings for Deichman Bjørvika, the Munch Museum, the Opera and the National Museum cost a total of 000 billion kroner to build.

Who did what?

Boken Leave Y alone is a contemporary document of dimensions, in that it tells of the fighting spirit of a wide range of people, which manifested itself in different ways.

As a future reader, one might well miss a short biography (accompanied by page references) of the many actors who come and go throughout the story; even a moderately socially engaged person would have difficulty placing all of them.

The book has been exquisitely designed by Saralinn Hembre Singstad, which gives the book the feel of being an extension of the all-art work Y-block.

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