Sturdy, meticulously crafted, and made with sustainable materials, the Fruit Cage is a conceptual cousin to this rural property’s main barn, which was also designed by Nicole Migeon, AIA. Its purpose: to be open to the elements while kindly encouraging fowl and four-legged foragers to dine elsewhere. At 12-feet by 26 feet and 121/2 feet tall, the timber-frame structure has flush diagonal bracing, site-fabricated trusses, and vertical battens. A blackened stainless-steel latch, made by a local metalsmith, opens the door to a brick path flanked by two planting beds.
“I love the rhythm of it,” said a judge. That was the idea. “Rather than put a skin on it, we looked at repetition, symmetry, how to make the structural shoring and bracing into beautiful x’s,” says Nicole. “How the fasteners can be countersunk so you don’t see them, and how to sandwich the netting so you don’t see the attachment.” The locally sourced eastern white cedar was left unfinished and flashed with zinc. Rabbit wire wrapping the sides and roof was dug 3 feet into the ground so predators can’t burrow under it, but the 1-inch openings are large enough to admit beneficial insects such as bees. “It’s an original, inspired, humble little uncomplicated project, but very clear, with a high level of craft,” a judge said.
Citation
Custom Accessory or Outbuilding
Nicole Migeon Architect
The Fruit Cage
Western Massachusetts
Project Credits
Architect: Nicole Migeon, AIA, principal; Nicole Scope, project manager; Sebastian Quinn, RA, project architect, Nicole Migeon Architect, New York, New York
Builder: Chris Seaver, Seaver and Sons Custom Builders, Charlemont, Massachusetts
Structural engineer: David Vreeland Structural Engineer, Leyden, Massachusetts
Project size: 520 square feet
Site size: 10 acres
Construction cost: Withheld
Photography: TCS Photography; Paul Teeling Photography
Key Products
Cladding: Eastern white cedar
Structure: Eastern white cedar
Rabbit fencing: Metal 1-by-1-inch wire
Door hinges: Marvin
Fasteners: G.R. Fasteners; TimberLOK
Flashing: Recycled zinc
Foundation: Sonotube
Roof trusses: Custom
Truss connections: Simpson Strong-Tie