Henrietta and Jezebel never had it so good. They’re now living in a one-of-a-kind, multi-story home. But two thing are surprising about this. One is that their home was designed by high school students (but students on the track to becoming some of our favorite professionals — architects, engineers, and contractors. And possibly farmers. We love farmers. Every time we open the fridge, in fact.)
And the second surprise is that Jezebel and Henrietta are chickens. Their luxurious, new home, designed and built by these up-and-coming professionals, is this funky, ever-so-green, geometric coop, dubbed “Chicken Circus.”
It was the first project for Studio H, a high school curriculum bent on benefiting their rural community. The one-year program for juniors in the Bertie County school district in North Carolina provides college credit, a summer job, and a hands-on opportunity to build real-world projects.
This is their first year. Their site says, “By learning through a design sensibility and ‘dirt-under-your-fingernails’ construction skills, we’re developing creativity, critical thinking, citizenship, and capital to give students the skills they need to succeed, while building the assets the community needs to survive.”
Founded by two architects, Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller, who also serve as adjunct faculty at Pitt Community College, Project H Design serves the poorest county in North Carolina, where 95% of all students receive a free or reduced-rate lunch.
But Jezebel and Henrietta would never know that in their stylish new coop better befitting a New York City loft than some flighty chickens — although they are quite striking chickens themselves, especially Henrietta. See for yourself. And then laugh as you watch the short video of the move (Jez and Henrietta did not realize they were “movin’ on up” and needed wrangling).
And kudos again to these architects at Project H who are taking kids beyond their backyards and into new realms of creativity that will benefit us all.