Lars Israel Wahlman
b. Hedemora, Sweden, 1870;
d. 1952.

Swedish famous architect much influenced by the English Arts & Crafts movement; best- known for his Engelbrekt Church, Stockholm (1906-14). He studied at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, where later he was Professor of Building Science (1912-35). He travelled extensively in the Northern and Low countries, though it was not until 1924 that he visited the USA. He drew inspiration from many sources, including Art Nouveau and the medieval ideas inherent in the English Arts & Crafts movement. His HjularOd Castle, Scania, and the Toloholm Villa, Halland, built at the end of the c19, had obvious Anglo-Saxon overtones and their interiors owe something to architects like M. H. Baillie Scott. Wahlman’s work contributed a rich turn-of-the-century ecleticism to Swedish architecture which ranged from this Arts & Crafts detailing through to the use of original constructional ideas and Moorish-style detailing. His own house in Stocksund closely followed traditional timber-jointing techniques, something that he was to pick up later in his celebrated competition entry for the large and impressive Engelbrekt Church, Stockholm. It was completed in 1914 on a prominent site in brick with granite trimmings and a harmoniously tiered steeple tower. Internally the church consists of a number of great parabolic arches with recessed timber roofs. Wahlman designed many other churches throughout Sweden and also practised as a landscape designer.

Major buildings / works:
Hjularod Castle, Scania, 1894-7.
Wahlman House, Hedemora, 1900-1901.
Lars Wahlman residence, Stocksund, near Stockholm, 1906.
Engelbrekt Church, Stockholm, 1906-14.
GOteborg Botanical Gardens, 1921-3.

Bibliography:
S. I. Lindt, B. Romans and Nils Sterner, Werk av Lars Israel Wahlman, Stockholm, 1950.