While we did not build or design any of these structures, they serve as an illustration where problem solving and old-fashioned ingenuity meet. These structures have won awards for thinking outside the box. When it comes to your next project, we want to be the ones to bring in some original brainstorming or design features that are completely unique. Your project should say something about you, whether residential or industrial or commercial. We are more than just nails and a hammer, we are problem solvers, designers, estimators, thinkers. Put our experience to work for you!
Introducing NOG. This is a pre-engineered chicken coop. Not just ANY pre-engineered structure, but one that is made of natural elements (cedar wood, stainless steel and glass) to make “green” farming, or raising free-range chickens easy. The oval construction makes a cozy environment for 2-4 chickens to lay eggs and potentially hatch them. This structure is great for urban farmers who want to have a few chickens for eggs, but want to contain the traditional “coop aroma”. The cedar absorbs and naturally eliminates bacteria while the roof is vented with stainless steel. The door folds up and locks to keep your chickens out of predator’s reach. The Nog is completely mobile.
Another mobile (and novel) idea is a pig pen! Traditional pig farming used to put pig in the mud in a fixed place. Now, researchers have found that moving pigs around rather than keeping them sedentary, actually helps fertilize your farm! This wood and fiberglas construction is built for quick mobility – like a rickshaw – and has a nice indoor area as well as the actual outdoor sty. The rear gate drops down to act as a ramp for the pigs to enter the indoor area. If only it were that easy to move the pigs!
A giant honeycomb – the Elevator B is quite a practical innovation. Towering at over 20 feet tall, this hexagonal structure safely houses honeybees in easy to extract panels. The triangle cut-outs make for the right amount of light and wind to pass through to aid the bees in making their honey. Beekeepers enter through a glass panel door and engineered pulley systems allow them to access the newest honeycombs.
Where’s the beef? This cow shed at Shatwell Farms is innovative in many ways. Our favorite innovation? The re-use of organic material. The colonnade on the front of the structure are constructed from the orange-beige clay on-site and mixed with the concrete. This gives the structure it’s signature and holds onto the traditions of the farm. The off-the-shelf-steel frame and peek-a-boo slat rain screen makes this shed functional and beautiful.
We started with chickens and our last item is another chicken coop design. Who says an out-building can’t be beautiful and functional? This design utilizes chickens natural “pecking order” in an organizational way while allowing the farmer to easily view chickens. The other neat feature here is the solar panel roof which powers LED lights that trick chickens into thinking it’s summer all year around – boosting egg production. This form marries nature and natural wood grains with a functional condo-like facility that takes up less space than a traditional coop.
P.S. God created animals so the chicken came first.