Helmsdale Nissen Hut

War often produces design classics. Whether it is the Kalashnikov rifle, the Spitfire or in this case the Nissen Hut all have in one way or another captured the popular imagination and become, to use a much abused term, icons. The Kalashnikov was the weapon of choice for Soviet forces, rebel armies and unsound individuals and continues in its most recent incarnation to pose threats across the world; the Spitfire became the image of the Battle of Britain and only really flies in the imagination; but the Nissan Hut remains, an object of utility, largely benign and with an aesthetic engineering beauty. One hundred years ago Captain Peter Norman Nissen designed this supremely useful structure. With its basic semi-circular shape and corrugated body it could be easily assembled, easily transported , and accommodate troops, stores or whatever. And a century after Nissen designed it the form of hut, with variations still dots the British landscape and further afield. A design classic.

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