- Lars Backer
Lars Thalian Backer (1892 - 1930) was a Norwegian architect.
Backer was educated at the
Oslo National Academy of the Arts under the supervision ofHerman Major Schirmer and theRoyal Institute of Technology inStockholm , from which he graduated in 1915.He served as an apprentice with several notable contemporary architects in Norway, including
Harald Hals ,Arnstein Arneberg ,Ole Sverre , andMagnus Poulsson . After completing an internship at theArchitectural Association School in London, he started his own practice inKristiania .Backer was responsible for several notable Scandinavian works, including the residence of the crown prince and princess at
Skaugum , the "Skansen" andEkeberg restaurants inOslo , and the first high-rise office building in the city. His Skansen restaurant, completed in 1927, was the first modernist building in Norway, earning Backer lasting fame as a pioneer of Scandinavian Functionalism.Backer died at the age of 38 from a streptococcal infection, but several members of his firm carried on his work and made names of their own, including
Frithjof Stoud Platou ,Helge B.Thams ,Ingeborg Krafft ,Jacob Hanssen ,Hagbart Nielsen , andGeorg Foss .
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