SPACE-Turkish Architecture Now: House of Chickens

SPACE June 2025 (No. 691)

©Ali Taptık

The House of Chickens is a small, thoughtfully designed structure at Palanga Art and Architecture Farm in eastern Türkiye, part of a broader revitalisation initiative led by artist Kutlug Ataman. Aimed at restoring a onceabandoned rural district, the farm operates on holistic and regenerative agricultural principles, including a large bird rehabilitation area and an ambitious tree-planting campaign. The chicken coop is the first completed building in a master plan that will include barns, greenhouses, and other agricultural facilities designed by prominent architects. The coop’s design centres on creating a humane, climate-adaptive shelter that respects both animals and the natural environment. Built with timber and simple, low-tech methods, it combines functionality with spatial quality. Key features include cross-ventilation, indirect natural lighting, and sectional designs that allow egg collection without disturbing the chickens. Inspired by traditional coops but interpreted through a contemporary lens, the project explores whether design can act as a catalyst for rural revitalisation without overpowering nature. The coop’s success depends on whether the chickens accept it, grounding the design in observation and local expertise. With modular construction and an 800-chicken capacity, the coop sets a precedent for using design as a transformative tool in neglected rural settings, balancing innovation with sensitivity to context.

©Ali Taptık

You can see more information on the SPACE No. June (2025).

Architect

SO? Architecture & Ideas (Sevince Bayrak, Oral G&

Location

Erzincan, Türkiye

Site area

2,000㎡

Building area

60㎡

Gross floor area

60㎡

Height

Building to land ratio

Floor area ratio

Structure

timber structure

Exterior finishing

wood Interior finishing, wood

Structural engineer

SO? Architecture & Ideas, Asmaz Construction Asma

Design period

Jan. – May 2018

Construction period

July – Aug. 2018

Cost

25,000 USD Client Palanga Art and Architecture F

Sevince Bayrak, Oral Göktaş

Sevince Bayrak and Oral Göktaş are Istanbul-based architects and co-founders of SO? Architecture & Ideas. Their work spans a wide range of scales and geographies, including SUPRA (2024) in Daegu, Korea; Unexpected Hill (2015) at the Royal Academy of Arts in London; and Lost Barrier (2015) at MAXXI in Rome. In Türkiye, their practice focuses on adaptive reuse and small-scale interventions, from a modular chicken coop to the transformation of a cultural centre and a disused swimming pool. Bayrak and Göktaş are also deeply engaged in research, particularly on temporary and floating architecture in the context of post-earthquake recovery. Projects such as Hope on Water (2018) and Fold & Float (2018) have been exhibited internationally, including at the 4th Istanbul Design Biennial, Luma Arles, MAXXI, and the Danish Design Museum. They have delivered lectures at institutions including Seoul National University, Swiss Architecture Museum, Delft University of Technology, and Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) in Ljubljana. Bayrak, whose book Bir Meydan Öyküsü: Beyazıt (A Story of a Square: Beyazıt, 2019) is based on her Ph.D dissertation examining the transformation of public space in Istanbul, and is currently an associate professor at MEF University.

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Turkish Architecture Now: House of Chickens | SO? Architecture & Ideas

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