Ragnar Ostberg, Hon. FAIA

Year Awarded: 1933
Born: January 01, 1866; Vaxholm, Sweeden
Died: 1945; Stockholm,Sweden


Projects
• 1939: Zorn Museum
• 1923: Stockholm City Hall
• 1911: Villa Elfviksudde


Biography
Ragnar Ostberg studied at both the Royal Institute of Technology and the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm, Sweden. After graduating, he worked with I.G. Clason.

In 1893 he traveled to Chicago, where he was impressed by Sullivan’s Transportation Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition. He traveled through Europe from 1896 to 1899.

He began his career designing private houses, but eventually also worked as a stage designer, painter, etcher, and professor at the Swedish College of Arts. In the first half of the 20th century, Ostberg became known for his designs of villas and public buildings, including the Stockholm City Hall (1923), the Swedish Patents Office Building, and a few schools.

He approached architecture as an artist and was considered a leader in the Swedish National Romantic and Swedish regional styles. The Royal Institute of British Architects awarded him a Royal Gold Medal in 1926.