Light at End of Tunnel Dept: Landscape Architects Designing Chicken Coops

susan durett image

Many people say that when we dig ourselves out of the current economic mess, the world will look very different. But how will people adapt? Daniel Gross writes at Slate that "if the economy is going to recover, Americans need to start taking risks again." Many of those risks involve careers that didn't exist before. He describes a few risk-takers, including Landscape architect Susan Durrett.

durret garden image

Gross writes about how she got started:

Layoffs can prove a powerful spur to entrepreneurship. Last October, Susan Durrett was laid off from her job at a San Francisco-based architecture firm whose business designing large resorts and condominium projects had dried up. "Starting my own business was actually my best alternative," she said. Reasoning that people might be forswearing major remodeling projects for smaller ones, she started her own firm, Susan Durrett Landscape Architecture, and now has four projects in the works.

But what is really interesting is this description from her website:

We specialize in creating healthy environments and promote sustainable living through our expertise in:
-green roof design,
-edible landscapes, including organic vegetables, fruit tree orchards and espaliers, and chicken coop design.

I really don't think there were very many landscape architects promoting their expertise in chicken coop design and edible landscapes until very recently. The jobs that people are creating for themselves are different, and right now we need fruit tree orchards and chicken coops more than we need resorts.

No chicken coops in the portfolio yet but we will watch Susan Durrett Landscape Architecture

More on Green Collar Jobs and Working from Home
Working From Home Makes More Sense Than Ever
Book Review: The Green Collar Economy by Van Jones
New York Times on Green Collar Jobs
Green Jobs - The Future is Now
Ten Green Jobs To Stimulate Your Career, The Economy, And The Planet