Le Corbusier, arguably the greatest and most influential architect of the 20th century, built his tiny 3.6m square wooden Cabanon to relax in while in the south of France. When the structure was put on show at the Royal Institute of British Architects last year, it was swamped by admiring designers.

For some, these small salons privée have been crucial to creativity. The father of existentialist philosophy, Martin Heidegger, was happiest in his wooden hut on the slopes of the Schwarzwald in Bavaria;

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