“Exterior Renovation” is the third book in the series – Building Maintenance in Practice.

All stages of an exterior renovation are described in detail. Roofs, chimneys, walls, windows, doors, foundations, extensions, lighting and more are covered, based on old Swedish building traditions. The traditional materials and craft methods are presented.

It also shows the ways to restore the exterior of an old house, but also appropriate solutions for how to raise the technical standard of a house, without doing violence to the cultural-historical value.

The book provides an illustrative picture of the standard and style development of kitchens and bathrooms in Sweden’s apartment buildings and detached houses. The design and equipment of kitchens and bathrooms follow the spirit of the times through the decades, both technically and functionally. At the same time, history bears clear traces of how the view of housework and life in the home has changed over time.

The story begins in the 1880s, when many cities are growing rapidly in the wake of industrialization. There is a housing shortage and economic conditions are tight. Homes are heated by tiled stoves or fireplaces, food is cooked on wood stoves and there are dry toilets in the yard. 120 years later, in 2000, when the story ends, high standards in kitchens and bathrooms are a matter of course. New trends follow one another and many kitchens and bathrooms are torn out and rebuilt, long before it is technically necessary.

Increased knowledge of period interiors is a valuable basis for conservation, renovation and remodeling. Inspiration can be drawn from the floor plans, kitchen layouts and furnishings of different periods.

Cecilia Björk architect SAR/MSA and Laila Reppen architect SAR/MSA are authors and illustrators of books such as Så byggdes husen 1880-2000, Så byggdes staden, Så byggdes villan and Tidstypiskt. Gustav Bergström, “Rävjägaren”, is a civil engineer as well as a writer and opinion leader in architecture and building conservation.

The book is nominated for Book of the Year 2020.

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.

Historic oil paints in architecture and restoration is a thorough presentation of the composition of the linseed oil paints used in Swedish building painting from the 18th century onwards.

It provides a clear but multifaceted picture of how recipes have varied over different periods and how they have been adapted to different substrates.