The ultimate backyard pod

Over the past two years, Danny Tseng has fielded the same request from clients over and over again: Help me draw a line between work and home. “Covid has created a situation where the stresses of those realities have melded together,” says the co-founder of architecture and interior design firm Syllable Inc. “Our challenge was to create a separation.” The firm had built laneway houses for people with work-from-home needs in the past, but those structures require permits, which can be costly and time-consuming—plus, not everyone wants, or can accommodate, that much extra square footage. So Tseng and his partners came up with the YardPod, a customizable, prefab backyard workspace.

Syllable’s insulated, all-season structures are a compact 108 square feet—roomy enough for an office, workshop or studio, but small enough that they can be built without a permit. “Having a use-specific space that you need to exit your house to access helps to re-establish some of the work-life balance people have been seeking,” says Tseng. It also brings the backyard—a space often under-exploited by homeowners—into play.

Comfort was top of mind when it came to the pod’s design, which features heated flooring and cross-ventilation. For a tricked-out option, upgrades include a two-way fireplace and an accordion glass door that essentially opens an entire wall to the backyard. Made with thermal treated pine for a natural wood finish or fibre-cement siding, a pod’s exterior can be customized to match the client’s house. “We wanted them to tie into what is happening on-site,” says Tseng.

So far, converts include entrepreneurs, health professionals who need privacy to engage with patients, and people who just really want a dedicated space for work or play. The pods aren’t cheap (prices start at $38,000) but they’re a tantalizing concept for anyone who’s had to blur out messy backgrounds on a Zoom call or contend with an excitable pet/toddler/spouse during an important meeting—which, at this point, is all of us.

More on the Office of the Future

City

What should the post-pandemic workplace look like?

Shorter work weeks, VR meetups, wellness stipends, office-wide quiet time and other productivity-enhancing, morale-boosting perks

City

This ad agency turned Kenny Hotz’s old house into the perfect post-pandemic office

There's a quiet zone, BYO phone booths and rooftop work cabanas

City

This woman’s employer offers company-wide quiet hours, no emails, no meetings

From 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., noon to 1 p.m. and 3 to 4 p.m., staff can do whatever they need to do to disconnect

City

This company gave its staff VR headsets for remote hangout sessions

Employees use them to play games together, meet up for virtual walks, or just stroll around the virtual office

City

Dear Office Diplomat: My colleagues are misogynistic frat boys. Help!

I could tune them out when we were WFH. Now we're back in the office and it sucks

City

The Questionnaire: Tech leaders on their company’s post-pandemic plans

Plus the next big workplace trends and what they don’t miss about the Before Times

City

Three Q&As on the new rules of the workplace

Including stuff you need to know about back-to-the-office anxiety, the rise of the four-day workweek and the right to disconnect

City

Five cool ideas from the post-pandemic workplace

Including swag-laden onboarding kits, UberEats credits and WFH stipends

City

Wealthsimple’s new offices have a rooftop patio, hybrid boardrooms and (of course) a game room

It features sleek leather, quartz and wood finishes