Houses made of slag – many have never seen them, others stand in awe of the slag bricks that shimmer in blue, green, gray and even change color with the light. Intriguing structures, tiny lumps of iron, charcoal striations – what can’t you find when you take a closer look at the building material? What is it, many people ask today. When were the houses built? Why was cinder block made?

Slagstone is our first artificial building stone, used in ore fields as an alternative to building timber. The forest was needed for the production of charcoal, the fuel for smelting ore and the extraction of copper and iron. The metals were exported, bringing income to Sweden and raising people’s standard of living. Slag was a by-product of metal production. The metals have been sold around the world, the workplaces are closed down and gone – but the slag remains and tells us – about ores and technological development, about heavy manual labor and skilled craftsmanship. No two cinder blocks are the same. Never again can one be made.

DESCRIPTION The book aims to raise awareness of the buildings. The oldest ones date from the 18th century, the youngest from the early 20th century. They are churches or cellars and everything in between. The pictures aim to show how amazing the buildings are and the text provides information about their background, construction and care. The hope is that people will be inspired to take pride in the slag houses and care for these unique buildings, made from a material that is irreplaceable today.

TIP Don’t forget to take a look at our beautiful Bagarstuga in Gysinge, which is built of cinder block.

Building Care for Apartments takes its starting point in the emergence of the modern city at the end of the 19th century and allows us to follow the development of the Swedish apartment decade by decade, until the end of the 1980s. By highlighting how political forces have interacted with aesthetic ideals and construction technology, the book provides a unique insight into why our homes look the way they do. From the design of residential areas and the appearance of facades, to the division of rooms, the colors of walls and the specific profiles of skirting boards. In an accessible way, you will learn about the rich history hidden behind the perhaps worn floors or flaking wallpaper.

The second part of the book consists of an extensive chapter devoted entirely to the practical aspects of renovation and apartment care. It presents concrete strategies for approaching and dealing with issues related to care and renovation, as well as practical tips on how best to proceed when faced with the need to restore or replace something.

Building Conservation for Apartments is an indispensable tool for anyone interested in preserving their apartment and its history.

Agricultural architect Charles Emil Löfvenskiöld (1810-1888) dreamed of reforming the Swedish countryside. A new architecture characterized by both beauty and rationality would combat poverty and misery. Bright, spacious and well-planned houses for both humans and animals were the basis for a humane and prosperous society. Only when the practical was also beautiful was it truly functional.

The purpose of the publication Landtmannabyggnader, hufvudsakligen för mindre jordbruk from 1868 was to disseminate the new findings in affordable and educational booklets with clear drawings and explanatory texts. Today, the work is an architectural classic that has had a major impact on Swedish building culture.

This reproduction is supplemented by an appendix with drawings by Löfvenskiöld’s pupil and longtime collaborator Pehr August Pettersson (1841-1906). They were originally published in his Landtmannabyggnader: ritningar för alla områden inom landthushållningen from 1891, a sequel and tribute to Löfvenskiöld’s classic work.

Stylistic shifts in everyday architecture
Tidstypiskt gives those who influence and develop residential buildings and interiors a tool to base long-term sustainable management and development of the building stock on knowledge of existing values.

The authors take us on a hundred-year journey through stylistic changes in everyday architecture. Typical building details from Stockholm are presented decade by decade. From the classicist architecture of the 1880s via the stripped-down functionalism of the 1930s to the 1970s return to the grammar of the stone city as an ideal.

The building details vary with the prevailing architectural style, from the composition of the facades to the division of the windows and the design of the door handles. The reader is given the opportunity to learn and interpret the buildings and details of different periods. Knowledge provides richer experiences and constantly new impressions of everyday architecture – our built cultural heritage.

Photographs and drawings clearly show the development of residential buildings in the city and the traces left by different styles.

A drawing section makes it possible to date door linings and floor plinths – or to use the drawings to make new ones.

The book is aimed at architects, real estate developers, property managers, property owners, but also at housing associations and homeowners. The book is also suitable for teaching purposes.