All By Design

Architects become part of the poultry craze by creating a fully functional chicken house with a uniquely modern look.

Architects become part of the poultry craze by creating a fully functional chicken house with a modern design.

Tomecek Studio, a small Denver architecture firm focused on the design and construction of experiential spaces, recently called upon its architects to create several agricultural projects. The architects certainly didn’t chicken out. They stepped up to the challenge, creating the Black Hills Chicken Coop and Barn. The design received major accolades including the American Architecture Prize, the AIA Colorado Merit Award and an AIA Denver Honorable Mention. It also was an Architizer A+ Award Finalist.

Designing the coop, the architects took a traditional agricultural structure and transformed it into a clean, contemporary architectural form while meeting all the needs of the chickens as well as the farmer. The barn is a contemporary interpretation of traditional form, too. In both projects, the light plays a major role in the formation of the experience.

Here is the firm’s description: “(It’s) a fresh take on the traditional stigma; this enclosure satisfies programmatic and environmental requirements of a quality chicken coop. The roosting house has rear access doors to allow for easy egg harvesting and cleaning.

“Architecturally, the primary goal was to elevate the design of a typically uninspired structure, without sacrificing its effectiveness. An artisan approach to function and aesthetics, the coop is part of a larger contemporary retreat that includes a prefabricated main house and guest house with pole barn.”

Learn more about the Black Hills, South Dakota, project, visit www.tomecekstudio.com/work/dwellings/black-hills.

This translucent coop is ventilated by a series of perforations and provides human as well as chickens access to the run.

The roosting house is elevated to provide protection from predators, air circulation and extra square footage for the chicken run.

The purity of a translucent cube with a solid nesting box insert is enhanced by the use of durable, modern materials to create a distinct agricultural form.

The Black Hills Homestead project is envisioned as a full-time residence, guest house and fully functional barn. The essence of the architecture takes cues from the rural agricultural aesthetic on one end of the spectrum and contemporary living on the other end.

The barn is divided into three zones, each supporting the homestead: The stables provide quarters for two horses and their supplies, the workshop holds the respective equipment and machinery to maintain the property, and the garage accommodates equipment repair.