Lådan

To minimize the family's living expenses during the barren war years, Ralph and Ruth Erskine built a tiny house with their own hands. The land south of Stockholm was at their disposal free of charge, and the building materials were also largely free: the stone for the foundation was taken from the site, the bricks were taken from an abandoned kiln in the area, and the reinforcement came from an old iron bed. With clever planning, the single room could function as a bedroom, living room, dining area and workplace. But the large glass made the house cold during the cold war winters, and Erskine subsequently came to avoid fully glazed walls. The box was the beginning of Erskine's fame when it was published in Architectural Review under the headline "The New Empiricism, Sweden's Latest Style". The house is no longer there. The pictures show the replica that was built on Lovön in 1989.