The Archipod. Round and Radical Prefab Office Space.

In the interest of fairness (and interesting blogging), I've featured a fabulous Polyhedron shaped office and garden pod, so now, I have to give some press to this wonderful round one!




The Archipod is a prefabricated red cedar shingle-clad insulated structure that opens with a gullwing door. The spherical unit is complete with a built in ergonomic desk, drawers , porthole windows and skylight and is wired with dimmable lights, an electric heater, outlets, a phone line and even a smoke alarm!




The Archipod has a porthole window which allows the natural light to come in and one can order special custom drawers and hardwood veneered desktops. Carpet is also available by request.

The gullwing front door, which has gas strut assistance, comes with a push handle and deadlock:


The curved built in desk measures just over 10 feet and is available in 30 different colors of Marmoleum® linoleum:


The structure is prefabricated in sections that are sized to allow all the parts to be carried through a house, so it doesn’t matter where you live, we will be able to get the ‘Pod’ into your back garden.

Because of its unique shape and the generous natural light from the roof dome, the ‘Pod’ actually looks bigger on the inside than the outside.






'The Pod' Floor Plan & Specs:

Size: 2.9m diameter internally at the widest point x 2.5m to top of dome.
Walls:
* Curved plywood structural box with encapsulated fibreglass insulation, plasterboard finish internally on high performance foil insulation and vapour barrier to a standard that exceeds current building regulations.
* Fully plastered and decorated after installation, so no visible internal jointing strips.
External cladding:
* Western Red Cedar shingles, blue label grade, on breathable waterproof membrane on battens.
* Cedar shingles are available treated or untreated.
Glazing:
* fatpod section1.0m diameter hinged double skin polycarbonate roof dome to maximise natural light and ventilation.
* Double glazed stainless steel porthole window.
Electrics:
* 8nr Dimmable spotlights
* Concealed background mood lighting, separately switched from spotlights.
* 3nr 13amp Power outlets (these can be extended below the desk using the cable management to provide more outlets.)
* Electric panel heater
* Consumer Unit with MCB’s for power and lighting. (Connection to the house or mains supply is not included – we recommend that an RCD is fiited to the supply end of the incoming SWA cable)
* Data outlet for connection of phone lines
* Smoke alarm
* Fused spur or socket for connection of a security alarm)
Desk:
* An ergonomic semicircular desk, 700mm deep and an effective curved length of 3.1m, finished in a range of ‘Marmoleum® Real’ colours to the customers choice, with 2 cable grommets in the top and cable management below. (see the full range of available Marmoleum® Real and Dual colours, go here)
* Bespoke drawer units and hardwood wood veneered desktops are available by special request.
Floor:
* Suspended timber floor with 70mm fibreglass insulation and high performance quilt.
* Floor covering is generally not included, as this enables customers to choose to suit their own requirements. However, we can provide fitted carpet if required. We recommend that carpet is fitted with underlay to improve comfort and acoustics.
Foundations:
* Concrete pads or steel posts, depending onpon ground conditions.
Door:
* Top hinged gullwing door, with gas strut assistance
* Push handles and deadlock.


For further info
archipod
Director: Chris Sneesby
Registered Office: Unit 4, Handley Park
Elvington Ind Est
York Road, Elvington
North Yorkshire, YO41 4AR

Email: info@archipod.co.uk

Mod Pods A Plenty: 10 Hip Prefab & Custom Office Spaces And Sheds

Small, modular, enclosed, insulated, wired, outfitted pods or sheds offer a great alternative to leasing or building office space and are becoming more and more popular these days. Usually more energy efficient and often made from eco-friendly materials, there are several design firms and manufacturers offering various sized pre-fabricated self contained buildings to lease or own.

The UK alone has several, and today I'm sharing three of those with you; OfficePOD, Garden Lodges and The Roosts. For those in the US, there's the kitHaus as well as several other pre-fab and modular sheds, homes and office spaces about which I've blogged before.

First up is a recent addition. A small but mod space to call your own- at least in the UK and Europe.

1. The Office Pod






The OfficePOD measures 2.1m x 2.1m (that's 6 feet 9 inches square) and does not require planning consent in the greater majority of cases. It's modular design enables speedy construction even in gardens with the most difficult access. The POD has been designed to provide appropriate security when empty or occupied.

The OfficePOD provides the user with an efficient use of space with innovative storage and desktop solutions.



High quality materials were carefully chosen for their combination of visual, physical and environmental characteristics. Power is provided via a discrete and protected connection to the house or garage; IT and phone connectivity is generally wireless but can be similarly cabled. The POD is provided with a secure locking system of the highest quality.






The preview of the Office POD at Grand Designs Live, a consumer show for design and innovation had people buzzing about the POD. One interesting outcome from their consumer market testing at the show is that they are now selling PODs to small home-based businesses and individuals. This is in addition to their core offering of the flexible leasing and service agreement model preferred by larger organizations.


Not available in North America. At least not yet.
all images courtesy of OfficePOD
Learn more here.

2. Garden Lodges
Need a little bigger space? Garden Lodges® of the UK makes garden offices and studios available for lease that are also fully insulated and complete with integral electrics for power and lighting and can be used as work studios, gyms, gameing rooms or music studios.






Learn about the available sizes as well as other models here.
all images and info courtesy of Garden Lodges

3, 4, and 5. TheRoosts


Roost is another UK company that makes three different modules, the R1 Oval, The R2 Aluminium, and the R3 Stealth. They also offer a bespoke service that is all about working with you and adapting their designs to suit your needs.

Below are their three 'off the rack' models.

R1 - Oval:





Clad in red western cedar with a fully low-e glazed frontage and sedum roof this striking oval roost is our signature piece, and it’s not difficult to see why. Unlike anything else on the market, it can be fitted out with a sofa, ottoman (which pushed together becomes a double bed) and desk to form an unbelievably versatile space. Simply the coolest garden studio around.

R2 - Aluminium:


For the ultimate in micro-living, this fully insulated, aluminium clad roost cleverly includes a micro-kitchen, shower, loo and living area with more than enough space to fit a sofa-bed. Perfect for an office or guest accommodation this multi-functional space measures in at a neat 2.8 x 4.5m. Cedar cladding also available.

R3- Stealth:




"The brief for the Stealth was pretty simple...To create a space within the parameters of a small garden that would exploit the northern light. The slightly unusual shape of the garden leant itself to something angular and immediately conjured up images of ‘stealth’ technology, whereby the multi-angled surfaces on airplanes, boats and other vehicles make them virtually invisible to enemy radar. With those initial ideas in mind, I took the two-dimensional plan of the garden and expanded it in to three dimensions. The result was a studio with a series of angular sides, all of which are mirrored on the inside by the sloping panelled walls." --Roost designer, Ben Huggins on the Stealth pod

all images and info courtesy of Roost.

6. kitHAUS


For those of us in the US, there's a wonderful selection from kitHAUS. Their modern modules by designers and co-founders Tom Sandanato and Martin Wehamm are available in various sizes, with aluminum construction impervious to rust (can also be clad in IPE wood) and are pre-constructed and drilled at the factory for easy installation.

kitHauses 1 and 2 can be combined and configured in many various ways, below is an example of K1B +K2L + K2B which equals 768 square feet:


K1 (289 square feet):


K2 (289 square feet):



Models K3 and K4 are available exclusively at Design Within Reach

K3 (117 square feet):


K4 (187 square feet)




To inquire about KitHAUS 1 and 2, please contact them directly here. The smaller Kithaus K3 ranges in price from $32,450 to $49,390, while the larger K4 model starts at $32,450 and can be outfitted with a full kitchen and/or bath. Kithaus is available exclusively through Design Within Reach. For more information or to place an order, please contact Dow O’Neal, Contract Sales Manager, at 415.676.6648 or kithaus@dwr.com.

In the past, I've blogged about other great examples, be sure to see the posts below!

7. The Orb


8. Neoshed


9. weeHouses



10. Pinc House Scandanavian prefabs