I somehow missed seeing Oslo City Hall last time I was there, although it is very dominant on the harbour edge, a fine example of the Scandinavian abstracted classicism which was so influential in England as an alternative to French and German modernism. The result of a competition held in 1918, it was largely completed by 1936, although not inaugurated till 1950:-
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
There is a wonderful solidity to it, yet not grim which it could have been in less talented hands. It reminds me, oddly, of the town squares in Umbria, especially in Gubbio and Todi where we were last week. (This may be especially because of the external staircase photograph.) Essentially solid, well-proportioned blocks with a relative minimum of ornaments for their time.
Yes, I thought it extraordinarily impressive and, as you say, could be influenced by Umbrian public buildings. Charles