The father of Hans Karl Asplund, Gunnar, was also an architect, who was a pioneer of modernism in Sweden, while his son, Hans, also belonged to this school early in his career. Later Hans Karl Asplund coined the term brutalism, which was derived from the French language and meant “raw concrete”. He became a strong critic of modernism, systematically listing all the faults he saw in this style. In 1947, he had graduated from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and then worked in New York in the United Nations Architectural Office. Subsequently, he was employed by a number of companies. From 1966-87 Asplund was Professor of Architecture at the Technical University of Lund.
Sweden