Tucson, Arizona–based architect Gideon Danilowitz took the required 40 hours of volunteering at his son’s school very seriously—so seriously, in fact, that he designed and helped build a new chicken coop for the school. He sought to provide plenty of shade for the birds while allowing breezes to enter and further cool the space.

Waldorf Chicken Coop Budget Breakdown

$173.34 Wire Mesh	$18.97 Gate Kit	$11.94 Hinges
$55.54 Plywood Floor	$68.44 Plywood Siding Panel	$548.26 Lumber
$215.73 Metal Roof	$46.91 Nails & Screws	$182 Concrete Mix
$8.58 Grade Stakes	$133.38 Wood Stain
Grand Total: $1,463.09

To do so, Danilowitz developed a series of studies that looked at the sun angles throughout the day and year in the desert climate of Tucson. Based on these studies, he oriented the wood two-by-fours horizontally or vertically so that they would block strong summer sun and midday sun, but allow in warming winter sun.

It was important that the project be completed with a low budget using simple materials that could be easily obtained from a local construction or hardware store. All together, the structure cost less than $1,500 in materials, with standard dimensional lumber taking up more than a third of the cost; labor was free thanks to volunteer work from other parents at the Tucson Waldorf School.

The simple materials and thoughtful design of the 160-square-foot structure, combined with the efforts of the local parents, resulted in a sophisticated structure that takes advantage of what the desert has to offer.

Project Credits:

Architect: Gideon Danilowitz

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Budget Breakdown: An Architect Builds a New Chicken Coop For Less Than $1.5K