The Fifteen-Minute Shed
This pattern is shaped by
Problem
In cold climates, the psychological and physical separation between a home-based workspace and living space must be dramatic to be real — but it must also be reachable in pajamas, in February, in the dark.
Evidence and Discussion
The traditional outbuilding — workshop, studio, writing shed — has a long history as a creative refuge. Roald Dahl, Virginia Woolf, George Bernard Shaw all wrote in garden sheds. What's new is the *necessity*: when the commute disappears, the shed becomes essential infrastructure, not a luxury.
In Edmonton, where winter temperatures reach -30°C and daylight drops to fewer than eight hours, the "fifteen-minute" criterion is literal: you need to be able to reach the workspace within fifteen minutes of waking, before you're fully dressed, in any weather. This means: within the property or immediate neighborhood, heated and insulated to habitable standards, connected to power and internet, and reachable via a covered or very short outdoor path.
The pattern works for any cold climate — Scandinavian countries have a robust tradition of separate small structures for focused work. The principle scales: from a well-insulated garden office (10m² minimum) to a shared neighborhood workshop.
Therefore
within fifteen minutes' walk of the dwelling, in any weather, provide a small heated workspace of at least ten square meters — separate from the main house but close enough to reach before getting dressed. Insulate it to the same standard as the dwelling. Give it its own entrance, its own heat, its own light on two sides, and a view. The separation from the house, even if only twenty steps through the garden, is what makes it work.