Friggebod Friday - an introduction

Sheds are held in high esteem by the British public, writes Sy Willmer, Shedworking's Northern Europe correspondent. They take pride of place in most private gardens, enable one to live out Arthur Fowler fantasies on municipal allotments and help shelter sandwiches from sand in much loved beach huts. Yet they are not not alone in their specific shedness: in Britain’s neighbouring European countries one also finds the allotment, garden shed and surf shack. In Holland the Dutch Arthur Fowler may know his weekend retreat as a Volkstuinhuisje (people’s garden cottage) and in Swedish life “dad’s calendar” hangs in the Friggebod. So when is a shed not a shed? When it is a Friggebod.
Sheds are as important to the Nordic societies as they are to the British and the Friggebod is an interesting introduction to the world of Scandinavian sheds for its name reflects the differing attitudes of building law in the European Union. Sweden allows for single story construction of less than 4 metres high (pitched) with an area of up to 15 square metres without the need for permitted building development application. The name is wordplay for the housing minister who first introduced this rule, Brigit Friggebo, and the Swedish word for a shed is Bod.

Scandinavia like most countries has a long tradition of shed building. In fact the Swedish word Bod means more than a just a shed as it commonly refers to a facility that has more possibilities than a building centre purchased “put up” to cover the lawn mower. Then again as expectations differ from place to place, to the average Swede a Friggebod is a shed - consider the Volvo and the Rover.
So what can be highlighted as Friggebod features? The standard area of a Friggebod, 15m2, can adequately accommodate a range of activates from woodworking to home office usage. 15m2 also supplies room enough for a sauna, gym and even overnight accommodation in one’s garden or closer to a hobby or work location. Buildings of these dimensions merit the inclusion of insulation, substantial roofing, doors, windows and the installation of basic building services. A fully kitted out example makes an excellent one room cottage that Thoreau would have been pleased to frequent.
Tradition prevails in Scandinavia: exterior coverings of timber “lock panel” and “sidings” (see image above) are the norm from coast to coast. Colouring of red and yellow never go out of favour for the Swedes and not left too long to fade, although Norwegians seem to just go for dark stained brown wood. A Friggebod can of course be constructed by a building firm or purchased as a self assembly kit but what is really about is building one’s own. Deciding how it will be look, getting the building materials and dragging in friends and family can be a cultural rite of passage in a society far less suburban than others. But whether its Bod, hut or cabin, everyone loves a shed.

Friggebod Friday

While the UK has a long tradition of shed culture, it is certainly not the only place with a history of shedlike atmospheres. Today Shedworking starts a new regular slot devoted to Swedish Friggebod (a topic we have touched on before). Here, for example, is a lovely model from Finja (which for those of us whose Swedish is woeful does have an English site) and you can download pdf details here. Helping with these posts will be our new Northern Europe correspondent Sy Willmer, whose own friggebod we covered here. As he explains: "The Swedish word 'bod' kind of means 'shed plus' - the word for shed is in fact 'skjul' but 'bod' is used in conjunction with a shed usage so Fiskbod = fisherman's hut, Snickbod = small wood work shop."

In fact friggebod is a play on words. When Swedish politician Birgit Friggebo was the country's Minister for Housing, she put a stop to the legal requirement to apply for a planning permit for small sheds under 10 square metres. As wikipedia explains, "the word was coined when someone tried to say "friggebo-bod" and stumbled on the words." The limit has now been extended to 15 square metres.

Friggebod Friday - Pildammsparken

Here we have some multi purpose sheds, a series constructed in Pildammsparken, Malmö, Sweden, writes Shedworking's northern Europe correspondent Sy Willmer. Realised from appealing chunky timber sections with industrial fixings and sitting on concrete pile foundations, they feature a fantastic array of flap down surfaces with open and enclosed spaces. They are used by a range of social groups such as the local scouts - theirs is surrounded by wigwams - and all are opened up during communal park activities, namely the summer open air music programme when concerts are held in the open green area of the crescent woodland where these sheds lie enclosed. As is often the case in the more northern climes of Europe there is a distinct lack of these sheds having suffered any abuse or vandalism. I have long pondered upon this difference of respect for the public space with other EU state’s societies. You the reader may have noticed this from the previous images I have posted of Scandinavian sheds in the community environment as part of this Friggebod Friday section. Perhaps it is the consideration in design or commitment to spend the taxpayer’s money wisely? I can’t answer that here, but these beauties sure beat the damp pre fab Nissen hut I spent every Wednesday night in as a youth.

Friggebod Friday - Sten Jensen

I'm feeling more than a little out of my depth with Friggebod Friday posts while Sy Willmer is away - I can appreciate the marvellous shedlike atmospheres but in my deep ignorance I don't understand a word of the web sites. Here's one I would particularly like to know more about, Stens sma hus. Sten Jensen obviously knows his garden offices since there looks to be plenty of technical information about building regulations and designs among his pages. He has also written articles on the subject. And that's about all I can tell you. But please do have a browse around his site which is marvellous.

Choosing a shed - Garden2Office (plus exclusive offer)

Mark Ramuz from Surrey-based Garden2Office writes to tell Shedworking readers about his Swedish garden office business.

"Your friggebod coverage was inspiring. As a friggebod importer I suppose I'm bound to say that but there were some great sheds. Here are a few pictures of the sustainable buildings I import. I think we're the only company who can offer potential shedworkers a modular kit that they can put together themselves. We also offer a full install service and a 'get you started' service to help with the trickier bits. All our buildings feature timber triple glazed windows that arrive from the factory fitted into the fully insulated wall units. Our buildings are so well insulated that the same system is used for housebuilding in Scandinavia."

There's a nice gallery of their models herewhich have steel roofs, are built of timber and have various cladding options. "All units are built to Sweden’s highest ‘P-Mark’ standard for rain resistance," says Mark, "and the clever ‘tilt and turn’ mechanism makes the window become tighter as the wind force increases." Mark is also very generously offering Shedworking readers a little incentive - a free heat exchange unit (worth £350) if they buy a building. So mention us if you get in touch.

Friday Eye Candy - Swedish friggebod

Friggebod = garden shed in Swedish and here are some nice garden offices from Swedish design firm 436 which they call Enkelrum. Planning permission in Sweden is fairly relaxed and something this size - 10 square metres - doesn't require any men with clipboards. What it does have is a nice deck which folds up to form an impregnable front door, reminscent of some of the container sheds we've been featuring recently. It's a nice site with plenty more pictures and you can play around with the colours online but I'm afraid my Swedish is rather stinky and I can't give you any more details.

Friggebod Friday - plussarum

A collection of lovely examples of the friggebod form from Stockholm-based plussarum. Here's what they say:

"Smakfullt, flexibelt, tidlöst… den moderna friggeboden för de mest skiftande miljöer. I skärgård, vid Gotlandshus, Skånelänga eller funkishus, eller med dagens arkitektur… Du behöver inte längre rita eget eller anlita egen arkitekt – du kan beställa våra arkitektritade småhus på knappt 10 kvm som byggsats. Och är du händig kan du själv montera huset."

Treehugger's Green Shed of the Year

In the same way that the Golden Globes are often a good guide to the winner of the Oscars, it's intriguing to see Treehugger's architecture guru Lloyd Alter award the Best Prefab or Shed under 150 Square Feet prize to Friggebod By Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter (also featured on Shedworking). Here's what Lloyd says:

"A friggebod is a Swedish garden shed, a way of getting a little more space and a little more privacy. Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter have designed a lovely little 100 square foot cabin-office-guest room prefab that is lovely to look at. It is simple, elegant and has the cleverest fold-down bed. A small modern jewel."

This is just one category in Treehugger's Best of Green: Design + Architecture awards which are well worth a browse.
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Jonas Wagell's awardwinning friggebod

This rather splendid Swedish friggebod from Jonas Wagell (entitled Mini House) is being instrumental in introducing the shedworking concept to a wider audience since it won the Hidden Art 100% Futures Competition at 100% Design in London. As regular readers will know, in Sweden you can build garden offices and other shedlike atmospheres up to 15 square metres in size without needing to notify planners. As well as the main structure - built from plywood and styrofoam - there is an attractive terrace and pergola (all still planning-friendly). There are potential add-on options to the main prefab construction including a bath module and solar power unit.Via Dezeen

Also, with floating sheds seeming to be in the air at the moment, here below is his floating house concept.

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Friggebod Friday - Fiskbod/Fiskhodda

As one travels around Scandinavia, one sees the shed format used in different ways, writes Sy Willmer, Shedworking's North Europe correspondent. Rental holiday cabins are popular with Swedes but even more appealing to mobile Germans and the travelling Dutch. Picture the scene, a natural beauty spot where the rolling pine forest meets the lake, holidaymakers frolicking in the clear waters and a petrol station surrounded by red and white cabins just off the motorway. Ok, not where one would choose to spend the entirety of the summer holidays but these places make an excellent overnight stay when moving across the Nordic region.Swedes, Norwegians, Finns and the Danes are naturally attracted to water and a Friggebod or Fiskbod (fisk = fish) is where one may choose to stay when sailing or fishing. In Scandinavia, fresh or sea water is never far away and the shed as boathouse is prevalent on the rocky west coast where Sweden meets Norway, up in the Fjords and in the archipelagos in the east between Stockholm and Finland. Scandinavia’s commercial fishermen also like a good shed, not only as boathouses but also for smoking and sales venues. In a similar manner to the front at Hastings in Sussex, excellent examples of traditional wooden Swedish fishmonger’s huts covered in layer upon layer of thick paint can be visited close to the museum and city castle of Malmö in southern Sweden. Fiskhodda is the local name for these charming buildings that are held in great affection in these parts.A two story shed is a viable option: compact of course but cosy in the extreme!

Green shed/friggebod

The marvellous Treehugger has a piece on designer Sy Willmer's version of a green garden shed produced as part of his university course in Sweden (where 'shed' translates as 'friggebod'). The result was a green roofed, solar panelled, modular building which can be used for shedworking as well as pottering. As it's green, naturally wood comes from sustainable forests and insulation is recycled paper. If you're in Sweden before June 2 you can see it exhibited at Röhsska Design Museum Göteborg. More information from Sy's site here. And if you haven't explored Treehugger, it's a marvellous site, genuinely global in scale and written expertly but sensibly, covering anything and everything that's 'green'. Well worth a look.

Friggebod Friday - Kim B Dalgaard

For this week's Friggebod Friday we've given Sy Willmer a short holiday and nipped across to Kobenhavn to profile the marvellous work of architect Kim B Dalgaard. Pictured above and below are images of his Havebygning followed by the lovely looking Feriehus. My Danish is not even as good as rubbish so in my ignorance I can't give you any more details at the moment, but the work is obviously marvellous.And the Feriehus.

Friggebod Friday - Sopstugan: the rubbish cottage.

Sheds have a million and one uses, writes Shedworking's North Europe correspondent Sy Willmer. Needless to say everyone must have somewhere to put their rubbish and as the debate hots up surrounding the domestic chore of recycling home waste the good burghers of Malmö, Sweden, have taken the fight outside. We're all used to Scandinavian countries being some of the “greener” EU member states but consider the fact that most apartment buildings up north traditionally, and until recently, had a rubbish “shoot” found on each floor. So the transition from streamline convenience to taking all one’s rubbish down flights of stairs out into the snow has been quite a sacrifice.The Belgians get community tax incentives to encourage recycling but here Swedes receive improvements in the build environment. The example shown is constructed and finished with typically Nordic finesse. The building’s scale and material complement the surrounding low-rise urban block it services. This facility is with all the details you would want to see such as ramps, wide self opening doors, swipe card locks, vandalproof, plus with the inclusion of a “green roof”. Malmö is really is becoming Sedum Über Alles: as one of Scandinavia’s fastest expanding urban areas the city’s planners are committed to using green roof technology on the majority of flat roofs and low rise buildings and unlike a Nordic dish of dark Game meat and fruit jam, it looks good and you can sit on it.On the inside, larger models of “wheelie bins” or waste containers are parked side by side under illustrated information signs aiding the user to separate successfully. Waste collection services are then able to enter the shed for regular collection by means of a master key. The current norm when “doing the rubbish” at home in most of Europe is to just separate waste into recyclable material groups. In the future we will all have to go further and divide into categories, similar to what we do now with coloured glass but next will be types of plastic and metal. Several thousand kilometres south from here in Vienna they are already separating something like ten or more different types of individual material. I think that sheds may just save us – get your council to build you one today.

Around the shedworld

Shane from Boyzone showed off his shed/aircraft hanger on Celebrity Mr and Mrs... Essential Keystrokes asks if you have a backup shedworking location... Web Worker Daily wants to know what the 21st century workplace looks like... materialicious reports on friggebod and civil rights... HomeWorker reviews Spare Room Start Up... Chief Home Officer likes English breakfast tea... If you have a private island, Private Island Living magazine (yes, really) has the modular housing information for you... Dwell blog likes the vertical patio (pictured above), a shedlike atmosphere without a roof or walls but with hot tub option from Picque... Treehugger identifies a very small homeworking space... Shedblog is back (hooray!) and highlights the marvellous shed performer, Fin (below)...

Corrugated paper shedworking

You don't see shedlike atmospheres built out of two millimetre thick corrugated paper every day. This one was designed by architect Mattias Lind from White and produced by Swedish company EuroWell - it is printed to look like black marble or white marble, depending which way you're looking at it. And inside it's all yellow. The whole thing weighs only 100kg. We've featured various Swedish friggebod designs on Shedworking in the past, but this is certainly one of our favourites.
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Friggebod Friday - Skåne Christmas market

I’ve been busy out and about like most others doing my Christmas shopping and preparing for the annual mid winter festival, writes Shedworking' Northern Europe correspondent Sy Willmer. Never one to miss a shed retail opportunity I visited this Scandinavian shed market in Skåne, Sweden, where I found that traditional Lapland reindeer herder’s hat my Gran asked for and the book detailing herring pickling through the ages for my cousins in Australia.After a good dose of retail therapy I refuelled on German style schnitzel and mould wine, all on site, then I was home in time for the Abba documentary (I kid you not). Lovely examples of what can be done with the format of a temporary city market, much more cosy for the men and women running them than an open sided market stall. So the 10 points once again go to la Suède.

Friggebod Friday - Öland: island of sheds

Off the east coast of Sweden lies the nation’s second largest island, Öland, writes Sy Willmer, Shedworking's north Europe correspondent. It's a favoured vacation destination for all shapes and sizes of Scandinavians in the warmer mouths and home to a community of islanddwellers who when not employed in the tourist industry are occupied with sailing, agriculture and small fishing concerns. Charming villages are arranged around the long thin coastline and one finds a wealth of sheds related to all of the island’s activities used by fisherman, farmers and holidaymakers, through to artists' ateliers. The livestock of choice here is the ever popular sheep (shepherds are well known to the readers of Shedworking as the mothers of shed invention). On my arrival on Öland my first destination was the island’s southern tip, favoured by birdwatchers and the Swedish royal family, to view a well preserved traditional “Herdes skjul” or shepherd's hut.Shed technology has a long history on Öland and the island is home to some excellent examples of classic Nordic sheds. The pitch roof is worthy of mention, especially the timberwork that is different to that present on British thatched roofs. The interior is lined and plastered creating a cosy retreat for the sheep professional from the elements of this windswept island.

The farmers of Öland have been productive the length and breadth of the island - while circumnavigating one frequently finds the familiar Scandinavian red lock panel style of shed by the side of the road. But my particular favourite is the pole mounted version. Life on an island can be full of surprises and as the wise men of Öland are fond of reminding wandering shed enthusiasts, look out for your shed and your shed will look out for you.

Annexet

The Annexet comes from Aarup and Hansson's My Second Home who buy, renovate and sell unique Swedish holiday houses. The Annexet is a 10m² house that doesn't require building permission now that the upper limit has been extended to 15 m² (as readers of our regular Friggebod Friday posts will know). The picture comes from the permanent exhibition HusExpo in Stockholm.