2012 Newhouse project #20121633 | school bike shelter
- Overview
- Collect Info Completed
- Brainstorm Ideas Completed
- Develop Solutions Completed
- Final Design Completed
Welcome Chicago Public High School students!
These are the instructions for entering a project in Division 6 for the 2012 Newhouse Architecture Competition.
Bike racks and bike rider amenities are given little attention when schools are planned, and bike riders have little infrastructure support for their choice to ride to work or school.
In order to support healthy lifestyles we are asking you to design a bike shelter that will provide safe and secure storage, protection from Chicago weather (year around), and some amenities that would be helpful for bike riders to have when they reach school.
The project will either replace your existing bike storage area OR you can find a new location that would better serve the school. You must identify and justify the new location (eg. - visibility is better, or there is more room to maneuver).
I believe a bike shelter would have a big impact in the environment around it. Although Chicago is greatly known for its transportation via CTA, I feel like if given the chance, students and other people would ride their bikes to school. The only reason why students aren’t doing so today is because they feel like if they leave it in the open, even if it’s locked, people will still find a way to steal it. I often see bikes missing seats, wheels, and just completely broken when they’re locked in public streets. With a bike shelter, I feel like students that commute to school by bike would feel safe storing it in a secure bike shelter. Not only does having a bike shelter help the environment by decreasing the use of fossil fuels but it also is a advantage to a person’s health. Biking does not cause ozone depletion, or emit deadly pollutants like cars. Also, it’s a great way to keep in shape because it’s great cardio, especially if a person is going to commute every day. With gas prices increasing tenfold, people would commute to places by bike if people know that there would be a secure place to store their bikes in. Another reason why a bike shelter would be great for the community is because there is a vast amount of bicycle commuters in the area. Chicago is one of the most bicycle friendly cities in the country.
In the Collect Info step of the design process, you try to gather as much information as possible about your school's existing bike storage facilities, along with the students and staff who will use it. You can't propose new solutions until you figure out and document what the existing problems are.
Try This
- Do a site visit of your bicycle parking facilities and make notes, sketches, and take photographs. Note conditions that are unsafe, unsecure, or that are less than ideal.
- Look at other schools or public facilities to determine good / bad examples of how bikes are stored and if anything is done to accommodate riders needs when they get off their bike.
- Interview bike users and ask them what they would like to have in a bike shelter at their school or place of work.
- Calculate the number of bikes that park over a week, also inquire if bikes are registered with the main office and if so how many are registered with the school.
- Do an analysis at different times of the day and week and create an analysis with average usage and high / low points. Also determine if there are more bikes at the beginning of the week or end of the week.
- Measure and draw the existing bike parking area and locate and note existing structures such as fencing, bike rack (notate the type and material), show the size of a bike and its clearances on the plan. Include dimensions.
My work for the Collect Information step:
The majority of the answers from the general public that answered the survey questions were very different. About 53% of the people replied that they would use the bike shelter if Curie had one. Most of the people I asked were from Curie and some just bicycle fanatics. About 73% stated that they would feel comfortable leaving their bicycles at a bike shelter. Some were unsure because of the unwarranted security in such a space. One of the fifteen surveyors suggested that there should be supervisors or guards just there for safety. Most of the surveyors suggested that there should be showers, lockers, café, food court, a repair shop, and a gym. Entertainment should be provided if they are waiting on their bikes to be repaired. About 26% replied that bike shelter should serve the community. There were various answers to the amount of storage a bike shelter should have. Some suggested an immense number of 2000 and some as low as 30. I thought this was weird because sure, if you looked at the amount of population at our school and looked at the bike racks outside of Curie, you would notice that a small percentage actually use the bike racks. Maybe that’s what led them to believe that a bike shelter wouldn’t need much room. Many suggestions were very efficient to the purpose of finding how much the storage should charge. Some recommended that the storage should have a free month or so trial to see how secure it could be and the experience of it. Some recommended that they should provide a warranty, if the bikes were to be stolen. The recommended price range average for how much it should be daily is about 25 cents and monthly for 5 dollars.
In progress
In the Brainstorm Ideas step of the design process, you put some early ideas down on paper that show what you've found in the Collect Info step.
Try This
- As you are observing and making notes think about how your bike shelter is taking shape. Make side notes of where new elements may go or how you would change what is currently in place.
- Take note of unsafe conditions or conditions that do not make sense (For example, bicycles sticking out into a sidewalk or people having difficulty parking their bikes).
- Sit and study photographs of your site visit. If you can print and write comments of what you remember and note where you might change things and how.
My work for the Brainstorm Ideas step:
First, I went to google and looked up bike shelters to get a general idea of how to start sketching one. I found several prime examples that I also wanted to be a part of my bike shelter. The design was simple, but effective.
In the Develop Solutions step, your rough ideas come together with drawings and models that can show others your solutions for a new bike shelter.
Try This
- Try out different ideas and save each “version”. You do not want to lose a good idea later! Other people viewing your project - other students around the country, your teacher, and mentors - want to see how your ideas have changed over time. This means that while you're working on your digital model, you’ll want to be sure to keep re-saving it with a new file name every few days as you work through the steps.
- Make a list of your ideas and associated sketches, or practice models. For your final upload you will want to write a short but effective paragraph of your process and what you found. This will inform the direction you will take for the final solution.
- Show your ideas to your teacher and peers for some feedback. You can also review your progress with the test group you may have interviewed and test whether your design would meet their needs or address their concerns. Learn from the feedback you receive and incorporate into your final design solution.
- Be sure to check out and make comments on other student bike shelter projects. Post a link to your project on your Facebook account.
- Review your design and test it against your own observations and review that it has met the project requirements. Did it meet the expectations of the end users that you spoke to?
- Do not leave work for the last minute! Going through a detailed design process requires time to gather information, develop ideas, and make improvements. This is difficult or impossible if you try to pull everything together a week before your project is due. Projects that are researched, developed, and well executed will always stand out!
My work for the Develop Solutions step:
My solution will be based upon the sketches that I have drawn. Although it's not exactly the same design, it's very similar. I altered it so that I could put some bike racks outside of the building under a roof so it's protected from rain and other weather conditions. This is so that people can store their bikes if they're in a hurry so they don't need to enter the building. Everything from the position of the rooms and what they would consist of have been thought through thoroughly.
The final step of the design process is to create more finished drawings that illustrate your ideas to others. Remember, your explanation text, and the types of drawings, images, and models you share need to tell the whole story of your project to someone who may or may not have ever visited your school.
Be sure that you understand and meet all schedule deadlines and project data submission requirements.
The Newhouse Competition judges will be evaluating your design project on:
- The creativity of the final solution.
- If you have included all studies, observations, data, and calculations utilized for determining capacities, design considerations, and scale of final project.
- How well you showed the design process through sketches, notes, pictures, etc.
- How well your projects incorporates the following components:
Secure bike storage using common bike parking structures (bike racks), or some type of creative structure that is an “improvement” to what is currently installed and utilized at the school.
Shelter from the weather – it can be enclosed or partially enclosed.
Basic amenities: clean up or private shower facilities, personal lockers, small food kiosk or beverage bar, considerations for self performing bike maintenance, bike storage, information board(s).
Consideration for use at all hours and seasons.
My work for the Final Design step:
My bike shelter has all the essential aspects of a secure storage space that will hold bikes. Students will feel secure with this design because the bikes will be under observance from a security and the cash register. The shelter will include 12 floor mounted bike racks with 9 wall mounted bike racks. This will accomodate roughly 100 bikes to be stored. The bathroom and locker area will accomodate bike riders that need to shower themselves after a long day of biking. Lockers will provide users to have a secure experience while doing other things.
Comments
1
Very good start. Don't forget to upload the progress of your project periodically under the Developing solutions tab