Chickens lead culture movement

Jul 25, 2012
From wire reports

COOPED UP: Public space is receiving new direction, inspired by the barnyard birds.

TALLINN - The so-called Culture Chicken project - live hens living in Tallinn and reminding city dwellers about the importance and preservation of nature, and also holding to an idea from Tallinn’s city planning - has moved to a coastal area around the Cultural hub (Kultuurikatel) in Tallinn, reports Kultuurikatel.ee. The area opened up to residents and visitors in 2011 due to the Culture Capital title. Now young and creative people are trying to maximize the area’s potential.
The Culture Chicken is a unique installation created by young architects that stands out from the rough industrial landscape. On the one hand, it invites city dwellers to visit the chickens and promotes keeping chickens in the city; on the other hand, it also aims to draw attention to the city planning process in general, and in the area around Kultuurikatel in particular, as well as to the ‘egg panic.’

For Tallinn Creative Hub the Culture Chicken is another example of implementing the Free City mind-set of using public space. The hen house is an important part of the social life of the garden.
The chickens have a separate area and a shed. Their garden consists of metal pyramids that create a functional unity between the garden and shed. The pyramids are used to attach a net around the garden as well as to separate different areas with different soil. Visitors can sit nearby and watch the chickens. The organizers hope that the chickens will settle in and start laying eggs that can be used in catering, for cooking scrambled eggs and pastry.

Visitors are asked not to feed the chickens. In autumn, the birds will be returned to Kuusiku farm.
The timber structures of the hen house were built by team members with the help of tools from the Tallinn Creative Hub and the company Jimmy. Metal parts were provided by AKM Metall. Welding work of the pyramids was done by blacksmiths Mart Vaidla and Nils Hint of Weiderwerk. The net is an old trap donated by the Museum of Coastal People.
Team members are young architects, landscape architects and designers from the Estonian Academy of Arts: Grete Veskivali, Mari Hunt, Kaisa Kangur, Triin Orav, Juula Saar, Aet Ader, Liisi Tamm and Isabel Neumann.

The Estonian Poultry Society helped to find the chickens, which are owned by Piret Purru-Lemetti, Kuusiku farm.

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