The Atmospheric Expression [Figure 1] Image that appeared on the front page of The Illustrated London News on September 14, 1940. The London Blitz, the massive destruction of the city by the German Air Force, had begun on September 7, 1940. This unprecedented attack lasted day and night without interruption for more than eight months. Fire had consumed a large part of the city and many citizens wandered through the streets, looking for some kind of shelter. In the picture we can see two middleclass youth searching among rubble for a place to spend the night. With the massive destruction, the underground stations, for example, gave shelter to more than 150,000 people. The Blitz ended on May 11, 1941, after seemingly endless days of terror. © Mary Evans Picture Library.
Reconstruction of Lådan (the Box) by Ralph Erskine, 1941, in Ekerö. It was built by the Swedish Museum of Architecture in 1989, in consultation with Erskine. As in the case of the original, the intention of the Box is to be submerged in the woods, half-hidden among the foliage and isolated from what up to now has been the ‘world of men’. The lack of communication could become extreme during the long winters.
[Figure 2]
Photo: Francisco González de Canales. 67