Luxury Hen Residences: Modernist Solar Chicken Coop

May 16, 2011 by Robin Plaskoff Horton

Urban chicken raising has not only piqued the interest of many urban dwellers, it has arrived bearing some caché. While exploring this weekend’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair, I stumbled upon Raad’s modernist solar chicken coop for urban hens. This coop is so sophisticated, the desigers call it a “residence.” Ah, the urban chicken has arrived. I pretty much expected to see bird houses, dog houses, cat beds. Pets are, after all, a common element in both our indoor and outdoor lives. But chickens, let alone urban chickens? Here’s an area that used to exist more on the fringe–the domain of those who lived a bit on the edge of the grid, not directly within it’s cosmopolitan avenues.

3 floors of luxury living for the discerning hen. Low maintenance. Great views. No Coop board approval.

These “residences” are the non-plus-ultra of green design too: each utilizes passive heat and cooling systems, driving a fan to supplement the systems throughout the summer. The triplex hen house offers floor to ceiling windows and “great views.” The first floor contains a “scratch n’ run” area, the second floor four egg-laying units, and the third floor houses a roosting perch described as the “Egg Lounge.” The design includes plenty of storage for bedding and food, while a sliding tray provides for easy clean up.

Constructed of routed exterior grade plywood and acrylic sheets, the coop arrives flat-packed ready for easy assembly.

Available at Chicken-Coop.

Category: Finding, Green & Sustainable, Solar Energy, Urban Agriculture
Tags: chicken coop, designer chicken coop
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http://mcfutures.blogspot.com Caroline Vidican

I’m sorry, but how ridiculous! Designed by people who have never seen a hen. How can a hen live in such an enclosed space, people all over are trying to liberate battery cooped up hens, and new designers go and do the same thing! Can you imagine how much that would heat up if the sun shone on it for any time? How stiff the hen (God forbid that it should be henS) would get in so small a run? No grass to scratch? Laughable.
Robin Plaskoff Horton

Thanks for your feedback Caroline. I love hearing what readers think about various designs showcased here. I assumed a user of this coop would provide a space for chickens to run…but ya never do know how folks will use things. The designers say that they have a cooling system and fan for summer…
Robin Plaskoff Horton

Thanks for the suggestions Luke!
http://www.germainesolutions.com Germaine Jenkins

Quite stylish design, but in reality it’ll serve as a chicken torture chamber. Like the previous commenter noted, this looks like the Trump version of the corporate coop operations in the Food Inc. documentary, only instead of being cramped in total darkness, the helpless animals get to ‘bake’ in style. At minimum, two poor chickens (and you’d need at least two cause they’re social animals) would be pooping all over each other. No wonder there aren’t any actual birds in the pics. Make it five times as big (wider than tall) with hardware cloth and sufficient shade and they’ll be closer to something that actually works. Looking forward to seeing the next model…
Robin Plaskoff Horton

Good comment Germaine. I think designers are trying to figure out how to meet the new demand for urban chicken coops that serve both the chickens and their owners well. Ihope this means that through trial and error we will start seeing coops that are both well designed and very functional.
Robin Plaskoff Horton

Many have voiced your concern Caroline about metal coops heating up like that. Like I mentioned in an earlier reply, I think designers are searching for ways to create well designed AND functional pieces. There are some very good ones around though. UK manufacturer Omlet makes some nice ones–so well designed some people thought they were made by Apple.
http://www.ptlandscapeinc.com/ Katy Landscapers

I’ll be honest and say that when I first saw the thing and read that it was for chickens, I really had a LOL moment there. After calming myself enough to read the rest of the post + comments, well yeah I get what the designers were trying to achieve. I’m all for chicken being free-range and all but what if some urban dwellers really want to raise chickens but not relocate from their condos? So I guess this item might be the answer. BUT the designers will have to go with Germaine’s suggestion that it should be a lot bigger than what they have now. Otherwise, it might turn out to be hen hell instead of hen heaven.
Pingback: Solar Powered Urban Chicken Coop | Solar Panels - Green Power
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Solar Panels Can Power Your Life!
Urban farming is on the rise with more people considering local food and trying to minimize environmental impacts. I have several friends that own chickens and raise (quite tasty) eggs. So when I found this solar powered urban chicken coop, I had to write about it!

Shown at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, the modernist solar chicken coop created by Raad is so sophisticated, the designers call it a â??residence.â?? This structure houses chickens in a comfortable setting so that they can comfortably produce farm-fresh eggs. For time-pressed urban farmers, the coop itself is very easy to set up and assemble.

Solar energy helps air circulate through the coop. There are three levels inside to allow for bedding and food, a perch for roosting and private laying units. If you own chickens, youâ??ll appreciate the easy cleaning with a slide out chicken run.
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Solar energy is used to circulate air through the coop, which also features storage space for bedding and food, a comfortable perch for roosting, four private laying units that are easily accessible, and a slide out chicken run that facilitates easy cleaning. A rising number of city dwellers are choosing to raise their own chickens; RAAD has capitalized on this with a product that ensures maximum comfort for both the birds and the people with minimum fuss.