Teigen's cabins

By Arne B. Langleite

Architectural photography is the seemingly simple and straightforward capture of an architect's work and vision. But the work is far from uncomplicated. Alongside the importance of some technical aspects, such as understanding volumes and being able to get straight lines, sensitivity to light is perhaps the most important quality of an architectural photographer.

Truls Teigen (1933–2001) was part of Teigen's photo studio, a family business that worked almost exclusively with architectural and design photography, and was one of the most widely used photography companies for this type of photography from the 1950s to the 1990s.

The company was established in 1936 by Karl Teigen (1884–1969), but Karl had already worked for 30 years with the same type of photography when he took partial responsibility for his father-in-law's company, O. Væring, in 1907. At Teigen's photo studio, it was especially the photographers Karl and his grandson Truls Teigen who took pictures of architecture, while Truls' stepfather Gotfred and his wife Unni were involved with studio photography, darkrooms and office operations.

Among the architects Teigen worked for were icons such as Sverre Fehn, Geir Grung and Jan Inge Hovig. The spectrum of building types was wide, stretching from modest cottages via prestigious villas to large office and apartment blocks.

In Teigen's work, the use of light is striking. While it is a convention in modern architectural photography to use light early and late in the day, Truls often photographed in the middle of the day, in direct, harsh sunlight.

I think of it as a reflection of the thinking behind many of the building projects Teigen photographed. At Enerhaugen in Oslo, for example, old and dark slums were replaced with large, bright and efficient apartment buildings, and the images reflect this by being bright and clear, with sharp shadows.

As the summer holidays approach, we can look at some of Teigen's pictures of cabins, summer houses and villas. Back then, as now, only people in a certain income bracket could afford to have their cabins and houses painted, so it's not a realistic reflection of how most people lived. But it's still possible to enjoy the way the light falls over wood panels and in through open veranda doors, deck chairs and rustling leaves.