Koto Unveils a Tiny Prefab Work Cabin

Prefab housing designers, Koto, have introduced a sculptural work cabin that will be envied by all currently working from home. Founding partner of the British company, Zoe Little explains, “we wanted to disrupt how we see the conventional work office and have created a truly inspiring space that has direct access to nature”.

Koto, who design and manufacture modular, prefabricated cabins, have unveiled their workspace cabin as a part of a series with the New Art Centre Gallery in England. The slanted geometric walls offer a new interpretation of the work environment, challenging typical notions of how and where we work – an idea that is all too relevant at the moment. The team has drawn on the parkland that surrounds the gallery to create a workplace moulded around the natural landscape. Koto describe the cabin as a “place of deep work and meditation, a contemplative room and immersive space to connect with surrounding nature”.

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The structure sits like a sculptural alien in the park, it’s geometric lines foreign amongst the organic curves of nature. However, the cabin’s façade manages to simultaneously blends in with the surrounding environment. The vertical lines of timber melt into the undergrowth of the forest behind it. Designers were largely influenced by the ancient Japanese philosophy Wabi Sabi that encourages acceptance of the transient nature of life, finding beauty in its imperfection. Koto employ the Japanese process of Shou Sugi Ban to char the timber façade, protecting the wood from weathering while also achieving a deep, decadent colour.

Large walls of glazing frame views of the garden, inviting nature to become a part of the unfolding workday. Koto’s founding partner, Theo Dales explains, “inside the wooden sculpture, light is refracted from many angles to evoke a sense of shelter and warmth”. Further stating, “Wabi-sabi is the perfect remedy to today’s hectic pace and obsession with perfectionism”.

Koto’s carbon-neutral geometric, modular cabins reimagine where and how we work, disrupting our interpretation of the conventional work office.