Carl-Axel Acking

Carl‑Axel Acking was a Swedish architect, interior architect, product designer, educator, and author. He studied at Konstfack in Stockholm (1931–34) and at KTH Royal Institute of Technology (1935–39). Early in his career he worked as assistant to the renowned Gunnar Asplund, contributing to prestigious projects such as the Gothenburg Court House (1936) and the Woodland Crematorium at Skogskyrkogården (completed 1940).

Acking gained international attention at the Paris World’s Fair in 1937 and at the New York World’s Fair in 1939, where he was responsible for the entire interior and furnishing of the Swedish general commissioner’s representation—including textiles, furniture, lighting and glassware by Orrefors. In 1939 he opened an architecture studio with Sven Hesselgren in Stockholm, which they ran until 1955, when Acking established independent practices in Stockholm and Lund.

In 1952 Carl‑Axel Acking was awarded the prestigious Lunning Prize, recognizing his contributions to Scandinavian modern design. In 1955 he was one of the chief architects for the Helsingborg exhibition H55, designing several exhibition pavilions along the pier known as Parapeten.

His architectural portfolio includes projects such as Siris chapel in Torsby (1950, with Hesselgren), Hässelby Familjehotell in Stockholm (1955), Quality Hotel in Östersund (1956), regional bank buildings in Malmö (1965–67), the Bellevuegården telephone exchange (1970), Birgittakyrkan in Sundsvall (1972), and restoration of Leksands kyrka (1971). From 1970 to 1977 he served as cathedral architect in Lund, while also teaching architecture and design as a professor at Lund University from 1964 to 1976.

Acking was equally prolific in product and interior design. He created furniture, lamps, textiles, wallpaper, stamp vending machines, telephone kiosks and more. Notable furniture designs include the Anette dressing table (c.1943), the Bentwood chair Nr 41 (1944)—notable for flat-pack assembly—and the Trienna lounge chair (1957), which debuted at the Milan Triennale and was produced by NK Nordiska Kompaniet. The Tokyo chair, designed for the Swedish embassy in Tokyo (1959), remains one of his most recognized pieces.

He designed interior schemes for Hotel Malmen in Stockholm (1951) and Hotel Continental (1962), as well as the interiors of the M/S Rio de Janeiro cruise ship in 1956. His lighting designs for Bröderna Malmströms included models used at the New York fair and later series.

Beyond his design and architectural work, Acking was a respected educator—teaching at Konstfack (1945–57), at KTH in material and form studies (1943–47 and 1958–64), and later serving as a professor at Lund’s architecture school (1964–76). He held leadership roles in professional organizations, including as president of the Association of Swedish Industrial Designers in 1960 and honorary membership in professional design bodies.

Acking’s furniture and interior pieces are represented in collections at Nationalmuseum and Nordiska Museet in Stockholm, as well as Harvard University’s museum in the United States.

He passed away in Lund in June 2001, aged 91, leaving a vast legacy that spans architecture, interior environments, product design, and education. Acking remains celebrated as one of the central figures of Swedish Modern.