Ross Houston

Here you can see the roof section, with handling frame, and the separate tiers in the background. The handling frame was made to aid construction and avoid damage to the roof tile when assembling.

I made each of the components with mass production in mind. All side walls were made the same way, using jigs, and those sides with the openings were cut afterwards. The bases were made to a size to both suit the size of a bird but also utilize the available material from a 8' x 4' sheet of ply. The off cuts from the octagonal shape were also used as the roof supports to give the pitch meaning as little wood as possible was wasted from commercially available sheets and lengths.

The sections interlocked together and were bolted using stainless steel fixings so that they would last in all weather conditions. This interlock design aided construction but also helped with weatherproofing of the unit.

This project was a success and earned me an "A" in my technology GCSE. The piece is still standing today in my garden, 13 years later. I has been repainted twice and moved to another post in that time. It has also been inhabited 12 of the 13 years it has been up.