At a time when it feels like every year buildings get larger and more impersonal, sheds remain a beacon of ergonomic simplicity. Maybe it's the nostalgia of the ancient huts from which humanity evolved, or the sense of focused calm produced by shutting yourself away in one, but around the world and across generations we have found comfort in our sheds. They are wooden repositories for our inner lives: cheap, multifunctional spaces ready to be filled with the passions, tools and ideas of the individual.

In these pages you'll find rotating sheds, sheds on wheels and holy sheds, as Alex Johnson uncovers the universal lure of these tiny structures. Also detailed are some of the big ideas these little huts have birthed, from inventions and philosophies to literature, art and increasingly eccentric answers to the question: what exactly can a shed be? The Philosophy of Sheds also includes a gazetteer of famous and unique sheds of the world and is illustrated with archival imagery from the British Library collections.