6 Eco Offices That Beat Your Cubicle Any Day

If you're like us and are just coming back to work from a long weekend (or even if you're not), chances are you'd rather be almost anywhere else than in your office right now. But wouldn't working from a fabulous <a href="http://inhabitat.com/2009/08/05/treetop-office-eat-your-heart-out-cubicle-warrior/">office perched high above the trees</a> or an awesome <a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/23/officepod-a-cubicle-right-in-your-garden-shed/">prefab pod workspace</a> (right in your backyard) ease some of the pain? Click through our gallery to check out some of our favorite eco offices that are better than bland cubicles any day.

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010/06/16/gorgeous-dutch-eco-office-is-green-outside-and-in/">VIBRANT BELGIAN ECO OFFICE IS GREEN OUTSIDE AND IN</a></h3> This colorful workplace is so creative that you might never guess that it's home to <a href="http://www.infrax.be/">Infrax</a>, a Belgian utility provider. And it isn't just green on the outside. Designed by <a href="http://www.crepain-binst.be/en/actueel">Crepain-Binst Architecture</a>, the building has green technologies that successfully reduce its energy load by a whopping <strong>40%</strong> of code.

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/23/officepod-a-cubicle-right-in-your-garden-shed/">OFFICEPOD: A PREFAB CUBICLE FOR YOUR BACKYARD</a></h3> What's better than having a sweet prefab eco office? Having it right in your backyard! <a id="cah5" title="OfficePOD" href="http://www.officepod.co.uk/">OfficePOD</a> is a modern prefabricated workpod that centers its philosophy on the fact that more and more people have begun working remotely. The space has everything you need to maintain a separate workspace away from distractions but with all of the eco benefits of not having to commute.

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/16/nunnmps-concept-office-is-a-workplace-on-stilts/">NUNNMPS OFFICE ON STILTS!</a></h3> If you're looking to take your career to new heights, how about putting your office on stilts? That's what the architects behind this Nunnmps office in Chicago did in order to minimize the project’s footprint and preserve the site’s natural state. Two thirds of the building is <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/12/gary-nevilles-zero-carbon-underground-home/">underground</a> and the rest is perched up high on <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/03/19/fujimori-tea-house/">stilts</a>!

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010/08/25/beautiful-student-built-prefab-office-wins-aia-citation/">BEAUTIFUL STUDENT BUILT PREFAB OFFICE</a></h3> Seeing the beautiful craftsmanship and smart design of this lovely eco office, it's hard to believe that it was designed and built by students! That's right, attendees of the California <a href="http://www.academyart.edu/news/articles/architecture-project-wins-citation-american-institute-architects-east-bay.html" target="_blank">Academy of Art</a> were responsible for this amazing <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/12/prefab-friday-archipods-spherical-garden-office-pod/" target="_blank">prefabricated outdoor office</a> which uses <a href="http://inhabitat.com/recycled-materials/">recycled and reclaimed materials</a> - and they even took home a citation from the <a href="http://aiaeb.org/">East Bay AIA</a> for the impeccable design.

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/2009/08/05/treetop-office-eat-your-heart-out-cubicle-warrior/">TREETOP OFFICE WITH INCREDIBLE VIEWS</a></h3> If you don't want a major case of office envy, look away now. This incredible workplace is one of a kind, perched high above the forests of Chuckanut Bay in Bellingham, Washington. <a href="http://uiarchitects.com/" target="_blank">Peter Frazier</a>, a customer experience consultant, built the lofty space after gaining over 50 pounds while working at his regular office. We're sure that getting up to this treetop space every day probably helped him shed some poundage.

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/11/european-investment-bank-wins-international-green-architecture-award/">GORGEOUS GLASS-CLAD OFFICE BUILDING IN LUXEMBOURG</a></h3> This gleaming home to the <a href="http://www.eib.org/" target="_blank">European Investment Bank</a> in Luxembourg certainly doesn't look like your everyday average office building. The glass-cad exterior, environmentally conscious and energy-efficient design and office layout that promotes interaction and communication took first place in the Emilio Ambasz Prize for Green Architecture for International Buildings. Designed by Düsseldorf-based <a href="http://www.ingenhovenarchitects.com/" target="_blank">Ingenhoven Architects</a>, the innovative building has both winter and summer gardens and has achieved a rating of “very good” under the UK’s Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (<a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/03/25/londons-first-breeam-outstanding-office-tower/">BREEAM</a>).