Covid-19 Pandemic Fuels Garden Office Pod Boom

Authorities in England further eased coronavirus restrictions recently, allowing shops, gyms, hairdressers, restaurant patios and beer gardens to reopen after months of lockdown. But it's not clear when - if ever - the country's millions of office workers will return to their desks and shuttered workplaces.

The shift to working from home has fueled demand for alternative workplaces, including so-called "garden rooms".

"My Room in The Garden" by London-based architectural firm Boano Prismontas is part of a trend toward alternative workplaces.

The modular, prefabricated home office is designed to be a cozy hideout for workers' gardens and courtyard spaces.

"There are all kinds of options that people can choose from, they can have a white board, a pegboard, they can paint it in any color, so you can really customize it to make it your space," explains Boana Prismontas co-founder, Jonas Prismontas.

The 2.5-metre-high room's birch plywood structure is digitally fabricated at the firm's workshop in London's Hoxton.

The modular, prefabricated unit is then constructed onsite in about a day.

Co-founder Tomaso Boano says they set about designing the low-cost office space in March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic started ripping through the UK and office workers began decamping to their dining rooms.

"We thought, okay, there will be need of spaces where to work, and it's not fair that everyone is working from home," he says.

"Everyone was like really squeezed in their living room spaces, while in the backyard there was a garden or there was an empty space that could be used."

Since launch last September, the garden office pods, which start from 5,000 British pounds for a basic module, have seen a surge in enquiries.

Boano say they've received hundreds of requests from the UK and abroad. They're hoping to deliver about 15 units this year.

"We got like so many e-mails, really. In the first two weeks, we got like hundreds of e-mails from everywhere from UK, Europe, America, Australia, everywhere," he says.

"The first client was like someone that's had to work from home, has a family and probably two kids. And he desperately needed a safe place where to concentrate."

The global pandemic has turbocharged a shift to remote work, a trend that looks set to last for the long term with many workers expecting to spend at least a few days of their work week at home even after the pandemic ends.

The UK government 's current coronavirus guidance is to "work from home where you can".

"You are constantly in your living room, either cooking or working or watching TV and you feel trapped. You really feel trapped," says Boano.

"And so, having the little threshold where you have to step out from your house and cross the garden and enter another little room is probably enough to give you that break, you know, in your mind, and kind of helps your mental health to feel a bit better."

Norwegian client Elin Sjursen is expecting her "My Room in the Garden" order to arrive later this month.

The design strategist has spent over a year working from her south London garden and doesn't expect a return to her company's Paddington office any time soon.

"I read, I watch TV, I have my dinner, I do my workout, do my work, I do my trombone practicing, I do everything, everything in the same room. And I just thought, I need a space where I have something for my mind and something that can give me more clarity," she says.

Sjursen says she's looking forward to showing off her new workplace on office video calls.

"For me, it will be a multi-use place, I will definitely have the space to do my work in the envy of my colleagues on the Zoom calls and Team calls when they see my background," she laughs.

Boano says the company is now looking into offering different cladding options, internal finishes, bespoke furniture sets, even different power supply options.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world.

To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app.

Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake

Connect with us on…

Breaking News on YouTube