WORKMEN'S HOMES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 225, 22 September 1932, Page 9

WORKMEN'S HOMES.

SWEDISH EXPERIMENTS. OWNER BUILDS IT HIMSELF. STATE SUPPLIES MATERIALS. Sweden has a unique way of tackling the problem of- workmen's dwellings. The owner puts up the house himself, with or without outside assistance, and the State supplies him with building materials of a standardised description on easy ternls, and places technical advice at his disposal free of charge. These benefits apply only to the homes of workmen of. the poorly-paid categories. In the 1932 small-cottage building programme the City of Stockholm Suburban Improvement Department states that the policy pursued by the city since 1927 enables every energetic person to acquire a well-built and healthy dwelling house of his own in one of the city suburbs, practically without investment of money or any financial resources beyond a modest wage. The work must be carried out by the prospective owner himself, with such assistance as he may be able to enlist. The material supplied by the authorities is finished to the greatest possible extent at the mill. Pipe fitting, electric wiring and such other work as'must be done by licensed contractors is undertaken by the city, and a skilled builder is assigned to assist at the erection of the walls. The 1932 programme comprises 600 cottages of from two to four living rooms, with kitchen, halls, basement (with hot water boiler, washhouse, etc.), hot water central heating, electric light, gas, baths, etc. Easy Terms. Up to the present about 1000 cottages have been put up on this plan. As a rule the owners have not been able to do all the work, but yet sufficient to cover the required minimum contribution. Apart from this there is only an advance cash, payment of about 300 kronor (£l7), representing one year's ground rent and. -certain • fees;

This year five slightly varying types of, cottages will be built. Each cottage is • fitted with gas, water, drains, electricity and central heating. In the basement is arranged a combined washhouse and bathhouse, a system that has proved advantageous. "The bathhouse will have a copper and water heater, which can easily be converted into an up-to-date washing machine. In the basement are further, in addition to boiler room and usual stores, a space which can be used as workshop or garape. Water closet is in some cases located in the basement and in others on the ground floor. On the ground floor is a kitchen of ample size and, according to type, one or two living rooms, cloak room or hall. The porch may, if desired, be closed in and adapted as a "flower room" for a small additional-cost. The walls in the kitchen are covered with plywood, and the halls and stairs are panelled with the same material. Around the gas stove and sink bench the walls are lined with tiles. Upstairs comprises either one or two bedrooms with a hall at the top of the stairs. The owner has a choice of finishing the upper storey or leaving it to a later peri'ff, but in every case the floors are laid and pipes and wiring made ready for the connection of the fixtures and fittings. Municipal Supervision. The participation of the city of Stockholm in the establishment of garden suburbs became actual in 1908 with the planning .of the Enskede suburb, which was chiefly to be a working-class settlement. The total area of the site was 140 acres. • The decision to introduce the system of letting the building plots instead of -following the usual practice of selling them outright aroused some opposition, but on the whole the plan has worked smoothly since. One suburb after another has been laid out and improved, and the lack of experience as to suitable style of houses and other matters in the beginning has gradually been overcome. The invariable rule for the city garden suburbs is that the houses shall be built for one family. Moreover, the houses in different sections shall conform to a certain type, or, rather, to a certain standard. In this way these suburbs have taken on a" more restful and well-ordered aspect, the various natural features of the landscape have been put to better use than would have . been possible by uncontrolled building. i