The Building

There is fun to be had in designing and building a brand new structure untrammelled by anything other than the imagination. However, converting an existing structure – particularly one as undistinguished as a large wooden shed previously used for raising poultry – can provide a much more enjoyable challenge. 

The Chickenshed is the product of such a challenge. Designed by award-winning architects Martin Hall & Kelly Bednarczyk (www.hallbednarczyk.com), the building retains the structure and the footprint of the old wooden shed but has been transformed into an elegant, clean space. The design strikes a delicate balance between those modern desires for light and views, and the need for the building to properly reflect its agricultural roots. 

So, there is plenty of glass and height, but there are also plenty of agricultural notes with wood cladding, corrugated roofing and concrete floors. Admittedly, the wood cladding is cedar, the corrugated roofing is not tin and the concrete floors are polished, but there is no mistaking the building for anything other than a radically repurposed agricultural shed.