Spring 1960: Scratching the surface

Naturbetong, the casting process patented by Norwegian architect Erling Viksjø (see page 30), first came to the attention of CQ in 1960. With Corbusian fervour sweeping the architectural fraternity, the magazine thought Viksjo’s more uniform and decorative method might offer a more acceptable form of modernism for those who found brutalism “a trifle too brut for their liking”.

The key was the enticing combination of raw, honest structural material and sandblasting, which could cut through the Naturbetong’s soft outer layer of mortar to create abstract patterns. “The sandblasting instrument, in the hands of the right person, has as many possibilities as the pencil or graver in the hands of the artist and is a great deal more than a mere builder’s tool,” wrote CQ. “In fact, this method should at last provide a common ground on which artist and architect can meet.”

By way of example, the magazine highlighted Viksjøs Bakkehaugen church in Oslo. In form, the simple triangular building was little more than a steeply pitched, sharply folded roof slab. But inside, the effect was both mysterious and primitive. The decorative scheme, noted CQ, relied solely on the concrete surfaces for its effect.

“A narrow ribbed pattern covers much of the soffit, emphasizing the triangular shape of the building. The four apostles appear on the surfaces flanking the altar – two on each side – and are represented as striking simplified figures extending from the floor to the apex of the triangle, where they are crowned by halos and two points of natural light.”

The altar, font and lectern were all simple Naturbetong forms that relied on their richly textured surfaces for interest. A cross, similarly treated, projects from the wall behind the altar, “attention focused on to it by sweeping draped curves etched into the wall”. And at the back of the church, a Madonna is portrayed tending a manger made up of large coloured aggregate, “polished to the richness of precious stones”.

A book, The World Recast: 70 Buildings from 70 Years of Concrete Quarterly, is available from www.concretecentre.com/publications

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