Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Welcome to Your New Office, the Creative Cabin

This minimalist cabin was designed specifically with 21st century work trends in mind.

The Falls Church, Virginia-based architecture firm GreenSpur has found an architectural solution to work commutes that negatively affect health and the environment. "Traditional work commutes contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and poor air quality," architect Zach Gasper says. "And, time spent sitting in cars is linked to higher rates of depression and stress." As such, Gasper and his fellow architects at GreenSpur, with Alexandria, Virginia-based McAllister Architects, have devised Creative Cabin, a 280-square-foot backyard construction, located in the suburb of Arlington Forest just outside of Washington D.C.


GreenSpur and McAllister Architects imagined a cabin sided with Cor-Ten steel, glass, and shou sugi ban-treated cedar for a wooded property outside of Washington D.C.

"Thankfully, as the age of digitalization becomes more prevalent, the once standard 9 to 5 work day is disappearing," Gasper explains. "We wanted to create a space that’s close to but separate from the home, a space that’s simple and in concert with the natural environment-because places are what inspire the best in us, not a diluted version of ourselves."



Glass pocket doors slide away, opening the cabin to its wooded surround. Bluestone pavers on the exterior contrast with the warm tone of the Cor-Ten steel siding.



When the glass doors are pocketed, an entire corner of the building disappears and there's a feeling of being outdoors while working or spending time inside the cabin.

Gasper asserts that by 2020, at least 40-percent of the workforce will be freelancers, temporary workers, independent contractors, and solo entrepreneurs. "These are jobs that can be done from home; however, working from the kitchen table or an office off of the living room doesn’t provide mental separation or the ability to completely focus on work," he says. "As a result, our clients asked us to build a detached creative space."



The interior of the cabin maintains a minimalist aesthetic so that the lush landscape is the main focus. The concrete floors are stained a medium brown tone, while the ceiling features tongue-and-groove clear pine with a pickled finish; the walls are sided with grouted cement board.

Creative Cabin’s footprint and siting was strictly dictated by the existing natural landscape. It’s sited between two mature oak trees and designed with a pier foundation system "to minimize the impact of the structure on the critical root system of the trees," Gasper says.



The architects situated the cabin between two old-growth oak trees so as not to disrupt the natural features of the site.

Meant to resemble a traditional cabin in the woods, the building is clad with Cor-Ten steel over prefabricated structural insulated panels (SIPs) certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative; a pitched standing-seam metal roof references the surrounding 1940s Colonial Revival-style homes in the area. "The roof finishes into an obscured gutter, which transitions to a copper rain chain and flows to underground rain barrels," Gasper says.



Sliding cedar screens treated with the traditional Japanese shou sugi ban method are layered with the Cor-Ten steel siding of the exterior.

The cabin features operable cedar screens that allow for passive heating and cooling. "The cedar is weather- and pest-resistant from being charred prior to installation, using the traditional Japanese technique shou sugi ban," Gasper says. The texture of the charred cedar, which ties to the cabin’s wooded landscape, and the transparency of the corner glass-pocket-door system gives the feeling of being outdoors while working inside the cabin. "The glass doors slide away to create a direct connection with the surrounding landscape," Gasper says. "Bringing nature into the workplace is proven to reduce stress, boost productivity, and increase creativity and focus. Being exposed to nature also has a huge beneficial impact on mood and general outlook, which is why it was the main focus of Creative Cabin."



The slats of the cedar screens allow for light play on the interior.



The materiality of the cabin blends into its wooded surround.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
×