A playful chicken coop is the Lake District’s newest architectural talking point

Until now, the humble chicken coop has been exactly that – an unassuming piece of garden furniture, built largely with function in mind. However, thanks to a design competition helmed by Lake District institution Grizedale Arts, the area’s poultry population are soon to have a high-concept new home.

Entitled ‘Heir and a Spare’ as a nod to the project’s funding from King Charles III’s Coronation Orchard Fund, the winning entry was designed by a trio of creatives: cabinet maker Jos Geczy, writer Phineas Harper, and graphic designer Rosa Nussbaum. Fending off competition from nearly 100 other entries, their coop is a hen-shaped structure composed of UK-grown timber shingles, arranged to look like feathers. The chicken’s crown is finished in glazed red ceramic, while the whole structure will be raised off the ground on a powder-coated steel frame.

There’s no foul – or should we say, fowl – play at hand when it comes to the animals’ wellbeing either. As well as its striking aesthetic design, ‘Heir and a Spare’ has been conceptualised to ensure optimum practicality. Pivoting polycarbonate vents will allow daylight and fresh air to enter the structure, while a rear letterbox hatch will open onto four cork-insulated nesting boxes for egg collection.

The latest in Grizedale Arts’ innovative approach to architecture, the initiative follows design and research organisation Material Cultures’ 2020 ‘Rock Hut’ and Hayatsu Architects’ Japanese Shikkui-style cold food store. Playful and practical at the same time, Harper is hopeful that ‘Heir and a Spare’ will become a Lake District destination spot for humans and birds alike.

'As the funding has a royal connection, we wanted to make a coop fit for a true coronation chicken,' Harper explained. 'It’s shingles artist Wycliffe Stutchbury meets infamous museum burglar Feathers McGraw.'

More high-end chicken coops – nothing paltry for your poultry

Last year, Italian brand Off Giannoni & Santoni, which seeks to encourage connection between art and nature, revealed artist-designed chicken coops for urban homes (pictured below) in collaboration with artist duo Vedovamazzei and egg producer Paolo Parisi.

In Mexico, meanwhile, featured by Wallpaper* in 2019 and built for the Casa Wabi Foundation, a non-profit art and community organisation based on the Oaxacan Coast, this hen house by architect Kengo Kuma references collective housing projects and is a chicken coop like no other.