Acceptera separation

Very rare first edition of the most important manifesto of Swedish Functionalism. The manifesto was written in connection with, and published shortly after, the Stockholm Exhibition. The exhibition, which was directed in part by Asplund and featured contributions by each of the authors, offered a variety of structures representative of the functionalist and International styles. It took as its slogan the phrase Acceptera!—translatable into English as either the imperative “accept!” or the infinitive “to accept!” Together, the Stockholm Exhibition and publication of acceptera constitute a definitive moment in the development of Swedish modern architecture and urban planning, both of which would be influenced in the following decades by many of the ideas regarding industrial production, planning, standardization, and functionality promulgated by the manifesto’s authors.
Asplund, Gunnar. &#; Åhrén, Uno. &#; Gahn, Wolter. &#; Markelius, Sven. Sundahl, Eskil & Gregor Paulsson:. . Stockholm: Tiden / Tidens förlag, Large 8vo uncut in illustrated wraps as issued. pages, illustrated with fine black and white photos, photo-collage

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From acceptera to Vällingby: The Discourse on Individuality and Community in Sweden ()


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Abstract

The Swedish suburb of Vällingby, completed in , culminated an investigation into the housing problem which can be traced back to the functionalist manifesto acceptera of , where the issue of finding a ‘Middle Way’ between the individual and the mass, the personal and the universal was presented as being as central to the project of modern architecture as it was to Social Democracy as a whole.

The ebb and flow of discourse on housing and policy during the 30s and early 40s engaged directly with the binary of private individualism/public collectivism, drawing on the thinking of figures such as Ellen Key, Torgny T. Segerstedt and Lewis Mumford to arrive at neighbourhood planning as a suitable foil to both the laissez-faire of the capitalist system and the monotonous and alienating results of early attempts at mass social housing.

While Vällingby provided improved dwellings and amenity, setting new standards in terms of efficiency, economy and convenience, these very qualities, it is suggested in conclusion, also mask the ‘un

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Acceptera

Cover of the first edition
Author	Gunnar Asplund, Wolter Gahn, Sven Markelius, Eskil Sundahl, and Uno Åhrén
Language	Swedish
Genre	Architecture
Publication date
Publication place	Sweden

acceptera () is a Swedish modern architecture manifesto written bygd architects Gunnar Asplund, Wolter Gahn, Sven Markelius, Eskil Sundahl, Uno Åhrén, and art historian Gregor Paulsson. Claiming that Swedish “building-art” (byggnadskonst) has failed to keep pace with the revolutionary social and technological change sweeping Europe in the early 20th century, the authors argue that the production of housing and consumer goods must embrace a functionalist orientation in beställning to meet the particular cultural and material needs of both modern gemenskap and the modern individual. Combining social analysis with an iconoclastic critique of contemporary architecture and handicraft, acceptera ardently calls upon its readers not to shrink back from modernity, but rather to “accept the reality that exists—only in that way have we any prospect of mastering it, taking it in grabb, and altering it to create a culture that offers an adaptable tool for life.”^[