Yesterday, we loaded up Chicktopia on a flatbed trailer (no small feat), and delivered the twisting turning coop to its new owner: Mr. Byrum of Windsor, NC. Mr. Byrum lives just across the road from Studio H headquarters, and contacted us a few weeks back with interest in the coops. He currently has dozens of chickens on his property, living in a few coop structures which he has constructed himself. Chicktopia will sit in front of his home, right on the road, as a showpiece

First and foremost, we are hugely grateful for the Town of Windsor’s and the Roanoke-Cashie River Center’s partnership on this project. Over the past few months, we’ve worked closely with the Town of Windsor to identify the ideal site for the farmers market (once built, the market will be officially owned by the town). We went back and forth numerous times between a few sites on the shortlist: one downtown with a great location but not-so-ideal renovation requirements, one site on the river behind a

This week we completed our Long Span Design Competition, a first look at structural engineering and creative structural aesthetics. Below is the lesson plan as was assigned to the students: Overview: After a very productive visit to the North Carolina State Farmers Market we came back to the design studio with a collective understanding of the spatial advantages of spanning a large area. So, as an attempt to enter into the initial design phase of a Farmers Market for Windsor we will begin looking more

After our field trip to the state farmers market, we headed back to Studio H headquarters and circled the wagons (pick-up trucks) to discuss what we observed. Above is a clip of our group discussion. We talked about the design of the physical space, the vendor relations, the economics of a farmers market, and more. Seeing and hearing all these things first hand will help us in the coming weeks as we start the design process for the Windsor farmers market pavilion. Below are a

Last week, we officially launched our third (and biggest) project for this school year: the design and construction of a full-scale farmer’s market open-air pavilion for the town of Windsor. To start the process, we went on a class field trip to the State Farmer’s Market in Raleigh, where dozens and sometimes hundreds of vendors gather to sell produce that all comes from within the state of North Carolina. The assignment for students was to survey the space itself, interview vendors, and gauge some of

Last week, we officially began the research phase for our farmer’s market pavilion design for the town of Windsor, starting with architectural precedent studies of iconic open-air pavilion structures. Students were instructed to analyze the building, its design, systems, materials, construction methods, light, ventilation, orientation, site considerations, and more. The goal of the precedent study is to take lessons away from existing buildings that will better inform our own process. Because our farmer’s market for Windsor will be an open air pavilion, the lessons will

Yesterday, we found out that Studio H is the national winner of the high-profile SEED Competition! SEED is a network and tool to evaluate and elevate design projects for Social, Environmental, and Economic benefit. The SEED network connects designers, communities, and projects, while the SEED evaluation tool helps communities and designers work together to further the impact of their collaborations. This year, SEED launched their competition, with three national awards for the best design initiatives in collaboration with communities. Studio H took one of the

With its over 100 reclaimed tobacco barn sticks, Chicktopia is now complete, with a crazy twisting chicken run bridging two functional boxes (one for roosting, one for feeding). At the open house, a few people described it as a “chicken jungle gym,” which seemed apt. Colin and Anthony, the team leaders, conceived of the idea of two colliding boxes with a connecting element, and also were interested in using reclaimed materials when possible. Chicktopia will hopefully end up at the Bertie Early College Ag School

After making a few last-minute tweaks last week, the crazy geometric Coopus Maximus chicken coop is now complete! The coop, designed by Erick and Kerron and inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s geometric designs, was a big hit at our recent open house and will likely end up at a public venue in downtown Windsor. This coop in particular was an interesting construction feat, as much of its realization happened in a sort of fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants fashion, figuring out joinery and angles as we went, designing and building

Thank you to all who attended our Open House yesterday, Saturday January 22nd! We had over 70 people over the course of the afternoon, including members of the Windsor Town Council, teachers and principals from the school district, families and friends of our students, reporters, educators from UNC Chapel Hill and NC State, young architects, and more. And of course, our students were there to proudly show off their completed chicken coop designs. Here are some photos from the event – thanks again for everyone’s