Reinventing the Chicken Coop

Description

Build a stylishly modern home for your poultry. Backyard chickens meet contemporary design in this inventive compilation from authors Matthew Wolpe and Kevin McElroy. Reinventing the Chicken Coop presents 14 complete building plans for chicken houses that range from the purely functional to outrageously fabulous, with designs that include water-capturing roofs, built-in composting systems, and modernist architectural details. The step-by-step instructions and full-colour photographs of these inspiring coops will delight both first-time builders and veteran chicken farmers alike.

Matthew Wolpe and Kevin McElroy are the owners of Just Fine Design/Build, a company that produces original pieces of furniture and small structures. In 2010, they designed a chicken coop called "Chick in a Box" that went on to win an Editor's Choice award for design at the Bay Area Maker Faire and was featured on theMake Magazineblog, theFarmhouse Modernblog, and theTreehuggerblog. Kevin lives in Oakland, CA. Matthew Wolpe and Kevin McElroy are the owners of Just Fine Design/Build, a studio that produces original handmade furniture and small structures. In 2010, they designed a chicken coop called "Chick in a Box" that went on to win an Editor's Choice award for design at the Bay Area Maker Faire and was featured on theMake Magazineblog, theFarmhouse Modernblog, and theTreehuggerblog. Matthew also is a Senior Mechanician for Furniture and Carpentry at the University of California Berkeley's College of Environmental Design and teaches woodworking at The Crucible, a non-profit arts school in Oakland. Both authors live in Oakland, CA - Matthew in a 120-square-foot tiny house he designed and built.

"All 14 designs are architectural wonders of reductive space and ample imagination." --Gail Damerow, author of Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens "Bay area artisans Wolpe and McElroy ... dish the complete scoop on the coop for those just starting the yard-chicken journey or for experienced woodcrafters longing to bring chickens to their back-porch scene." --Los Angeles Times "Splendid illustrations, both drawings and photographs, provide a sort of virtual tour of more than a dozen interesting and unusual coops without leaving home. Some are simple, some are elaborate, a few are downright extraordinary, and most have innovative features that could be incorporated into any design. ... has the feel of an Architectural Digest for chicken people." --Novella Carpenter, Author of Farm City Their care shows. The book is easy to read, and illustrations offer insight into egg access doors, cantilevered nesting boxes, worm compost bins and rooftop vegetable gardens. --California College of the Arts "Hey backyard chickens: meet contemporary design!"