and head of the Swedish National Heritage Board on 3July 1923. He moved the issue forward to a more concrete and permanent solution. The main objective for a new and sufficiently large building for the museum was to bring order to the collections, commonly called "The Chaos" while the unpublished research papers were referred to as "the corf". In 1929, the Swedish government suggested that the former military barracks and stables at Storgatan in the city block known as the Krubban ("the crib"), could be allocated to the museum. An architectural competition was held in 1930, for the proposed conversion of the block into suitable accommodation for the museum. No winner was declared, instead it was elements from the runner-up suggestion, made by architects Bengt Romare and George Scherman with engineer Gösta Nilsson, that became the starting point for the remodeling of the area. They developed the design for the new museum in cooperation with Curman, the National Property Board and the National Heritage Board. Architecture In 1932, the Swedish government granted funds for construction of official buildings to create jobs during the depression. Some of these were used to build the museum in 1934–39. The plans for the museum were not finalized until 1936. Exterior The main building, designed by Romare and Scherman 1935–1940, reflects an ambivalence between the predominant modern style of the era and the historical context given not only by the context requirements, but also the 19th century barracks and stables south of the museum designed by Fredrik Blom and built in stages in 1805–1818, starting one year after the land had been appropriated by the government. The barracks are neoclassicist in style and the repetitive façades used to be exposed to Ladugårdslandsviken that was part of Stockholm's main harbor up until the 19th century, while the main building forms a compact block taking a step backwards from the street to leave space for a forecourt. The museum consists of four two- and three-story block-like buildings surrounding an inner courtyard, giving it the appearance of a fortress. The façade is austere and decorated with sculptures made by Bror Marklund (added in 1959) and reliefs by artist Robert Nilsson. In the courtyard by a pool is a sculpture called Näcken (The Neck) by Carl Frisendahl. The bronze doors Most of the decorations of the museum were selected through a series of competitions. In 1938, Marklund won the