Dovecotes as Architecture: From Persian Towers to Modernist Follies

An article by architects Lane Rick and Henry Chan explores the architectural history of dovecotes, from vernacular farm coops in England and France to elaborate Palladian follies and modernist experiments. These structures, found across cultures—Persian towers, Greek peristeriones, Ottoman rooftop lofts, Mayan ceremonial complexes—reflect changing human-pigeon relationships. Historically, dovecotes were embedded in agrarian practices in the Middle East, while in Europe, pigeon-keeping rights were reserved for landowners, making them instruments of extraction. Today, pigeons are both reviled and fetishized, serving as urban nuisances or speculative commodities in elite racing circuits. Rick and Chan, architects in New York City, are working on a pop-up book about pigeons.