Session: Advanced Design/Build, summer 2024
Builders: 12 high school students
Materials: redwood lumber, 2×2 slats, miter saw, circular saw, drill and impact driver, wood screws, speed squares, concrete, ladder, moment post bases
Description: For the final build of summer 2024, our Advanced Design/Build cohort traveled to Petaluma to build a beautiful slatted shade house for La Tercera Community Garden, run by our nonprofit client Petaluma Bounty. This project featured 2×2 slats that “wrapped” around the back and side corner of the structure, reaching all the way up the back side and onto the roof seamlessly for a stunning visual effect. Our students worked precisely and diligently, making sure every detail (screw, angle, cut) was perfect before moving onto the next step. In addition to constructing the shade house, they also built a potting station with a deep sink for local gardeners to use!

This was the final construction project for our renovation of the La Tercera Community Garden. Earlier in the summer, our students from Young Women’s Design + Building Institute built 12 planter boxes, 6 Adirondack chairs and designed 32 mosaic tiles for the garden. All together, each corner of this community plot was touched by the skillful hands of Girls Garage students this summer!