Whether static or rotating, on wheels or afloat, sheds remain beacons of ergonomic simplicity. Maybe it’s nostalgia for the ancient huts from which humanity evolved, or the sense of focused calm produced by shutting yourself away in one, but we have always found contentment in our sheds. They are repositories for our inner lives: affordable, multifunctional spaces ready to be filled with our passions, tools and ideas. 

Alex Johnson takes us on a tour of such microarchitecture and details some of the big ideas these huts have birthed, from inventions and philosophies to literature and art, attempting to answer the question: what exactly can a shed be?