work cabin | GIZMODO.cz

Working from home this past year has turned our houses into hybrids of the office and home– where we work is where we play is where we sleep. Many of us are finding isolated working zones, either through home renovation projects or tiny cabins devoted to work, to separate our days and keep work where it belongs. French architecture company Novablok is unveiling their take on the remote office and living space through a prefabricated tiny cabin called Mini Blok that can be positioned anywhere work calls us.

Mini Blok is a freestanding, simple cabin with a footprint of 21.6m2 that doesn’t require a permit to build or own. Without any foundation anchoring Mini Blok to the ground, the tiny cabin can be positioned in any location, from the backyard to a warehouse. With fully glazed walls, Mini Blok brings you up, close, and personal with nature. Novablok felt inspired to design their collection of tiny cabins, including Mini Blok, to create isolated spaces where working professionals and even individuals looking for a bit of a solitary respite can retreat and work or rest however they like. Tiny cabins are more popular than ever right now, for their low impact on the environment and escapist personalities. Mini Blok boasts a low carbon footprint and with such a sophisticated exterior and interior design, the workday might just end up becoming a work-cation.

The finishes and cladding of Mini Blok can be chosen from an array of different options. Constructed from natural and sustainable materials as part of Novablok’s commitment to maintaining the health of France’s forests, Mini Blok can be personalized from three different finishes. Brut is the barest option, delivering Mini Blok with only its frame and internal structuring for individuals to build and furnish the cabin however they like. The essential finish comes with interior wood paneling and built-in electrical networks but leaves the furnishing and interior design up to you. Finally, Mini Blok’s signature finish comes entirely furnished and fitted for electricity, water, and sewer systems. The exterior cladding can be chosen from Douglas fir, red cedar, or burnt wood created using the tried and true Japanese technique called Yakisugi.

Designer: Novablok

When buyers choose the signature finish for their Mini Blok, Novablok furnishes the interior and equips it with electricity and sewer systems.

Wood paneling and warm lighting gives Mini Blok an elegant feel and refined look.

Fully glazed, sliding glass doors build one facade of Mini Blok, dissolving the barrier between outdoor and indoor spaces.

Darker interior design elements are worked into the bathroom’s design through shadows and minimal paneling.

The different cladding finishes can be chosen from Douglas fir, red cedar, or Japanese burnt wood.

Clients can also reinforce the exterior of Mini Blok with composite material such as stone, concrete, and raw or painted sheet metal.

The Brut finish gives clients total freedom to design the inside and outside how they’d like.

Paneling and electricity are given to the Essential finish Mini Blok, leaving the interior design and furnishing up to you.

A signature finish comes completely prefabricated with sewer systems, electricity, and interior furnishing all taken care of.

Working from home has forced many of us to rethink our workspaces. While some of us are dying to be back in the office, the rest of us are looking forward to a future home office renovation. Either way, the era of COVID-19 has brought forth some creative home office solutions that might outlast any future mandate. Adding their prefabricated home office design to mix, My Home Office is a standalone workspace situated anywhere with a paved surface for remote, isolated working.

Initially, My Home Office was designed and created by Cosmas Bronsgeest to have a workspace stationed in his family’s yard that could remain a place where he could retreat for quiet and concentration amidst all the chaos of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. The all-season prefab office is clad with FSC-certified larch wood and stands fully insulated with an RC value of 5.4. As currently designed, My Home Office features one larger model that comes equipped with everything from a fold-out bed to a sit-and-stand desk and a smaller model that comes complete with a fixed desk and outdoor lamp.

From the outside, the cabin’s natural look warms up the yard, and the fully glazed windows offer a peek of what’s inside. The sharp triangular frame borders floor-to-ceiling windows that merge the surrounding yard with the office’s working space for a workday spent close to nature. Inside, owners can work at the unit’s fixed desk, or choose to tack on an additional working desk, fold-out bed, or even a shower and toilet attachment. Depending on your own needs, each unit can be customized as the owner sees fit.

In most cases, due to the prefabricated office’s small size, owners will not need a permit for placement in their yard. Built with a plug-and-play design, once My Home Office is anchored to the ground, owners can power up the cabin by plugging in the supplied power adapter through the cabin’s wall-mounted 240V, weatherproof IP44 socket. And just like that, a new home office awaits.

Designer: My Home Office x Cosmas Bronsgeest