Birdhouse for Eastern Bluebirds, for rooftop gardens.
TIMELINE:
6 Weeks
PROJECT TYPE:
Third-year Studio Project.
The Problem
Eastern Bluebirds are small birds of the Thrush family that often fall prey to other large birds. This makes it difficult for Bluebirds to find cavities for their nests, thus they have learnt to adapt any cavity into their home. The goal of this project was to create a unique birdhouse for these birds that would protect them from predators.
The Solution
FLOAT, a suspended birdhouse designed for Eastern Bluebirds that provides shelter and protects them from predators. The target market for the birdhouse (asides from the Bluebirds) are owners of rooftop or patio gardens.
Research and Requirements
Eastern Bluebirds typically live in grasslands and meadows where land is not densely populated with trees. Bluebird houses are typically mounted between 4-6’ off of the ground, at a maximum height up 50 feet. Ideal dimensions for birdhouses are 4x4x9” with an entrance hole diameter of 1.5”. Some Bluebirds prefer their homes to be made in clean nests, which requires the birdhouse to be easily disassembled for cleaning.
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT AND IDEATION
Working around requirements, as well as researching on existing birdhouse, I saw an opportunity to come up with a creative solution, and focused on creating a cylindrical birdhouse with a unique hanging system. I decided to target rooftop garden owners as the structures found in rooftop gardens provide great support for a hanging or suspension element.
Three main concepts emerged from the ideation stage. The first two concepts were focused on removable components for cleaning, and the final concept was focused on a unique hanging system; cord tension.
CONCEPT REFINEMENT
Taking aspects from the first two concepts and further developing the tension hanging system, I came up with a design for a cylindrical birdhouse that was bent using the living hinge technique.
I decided to first test out the living hinge on a piece of matte board. Then, I tested a few different laser cut patterns, adjusting the patterns based on findings of each test piece.
After many changes to the laser cutting pattern, I was able to create a pattern that fulfilled the design requirements while remaining fully flexible.
FInal Model
Making the Model
The plastic components were made from high density polyurethane foam on a lathe, painted after modeling. The wooden pieces were laser cut from 1/8” thick birch ply.
ASSEMBLY
In reality, the birdhouse would be suspended using eye hooks attached to the wooden floor, and beam of a garden frame. To suspend the model for presentation, I screwed the bottom eye hook to a piece of polyurethane foam under disc weights. I placed a piece of wood on top of my presentation board to screw the top eye hook onto. The piece of wood was balanced by looping a piece of tension cord on the opposite side as shown below.
