ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on leading developments in the Nordic countries. The years 1945-1965 are known as the 'record years' of modernisation, and the contradictions inherent in this development are most clearly visible in Sweden. The chapter concerns the opportunities and threats of the imminent modernisation of society as well as architecture's need for theoretical foundations. According to Olsson, the modernisation of society had clarified these changes. The modernisation of Sweden also took place earlier and was faster than in the other countries, which had been held back by the war. Architecture was clearly seen as a means of nation building, both literally and symbolically, and the architectural journal was part of that. Applied to Swedish architecture this would identify with architects trying to defend their professional autonomy while at the same time working with the important, broader task of building a modern society.
