In 1950 Robin Boyd visited Denmark and Sweden on a long trip to Europe, his first close-up view of the international architectural scene. Both places made a strong impression on the 31-year-old architect - the Nordic combination of nuanced, locally inflected modernism and progressive social policy was a lodestar for what might be possible back home. 

The next 20 years saw Boyd write often about Nordic architects and design ideas - his admiration for Finnish-American Eero Saarinen was abiding, as was Boyd’s sympathy towards Dane Jørn Utzon in the Sydney Opera House affair. In 1964 Boyd visited Finland and found another valuable urban design precedent in the garden city of Tapiola. Robin Boyd’s admiration for Nordic design was long-lasting and deeply held - it can be seen throughout his writing, photography and correspondences. 

Robin Boyd: Nordic Connections is an interlinked collection of sources that explores Boyd’s engagement with Nordic design. Combining items from the Robin Boyd Foundation’s Walsh Street Archive and archival research, it highlights the vital influence of Nordic ideas on his thinking.