Multi-Use Bike Rack Seating
UNSW IDES2321 - Improved Public Bike Parking for Sydney, NSW, AUS
Spring 2024
Finalist for Street Furniture Australia Student Design Competition
Tasked with having to design a new public bike parking solution for NSW, I wanted to design something that deviated from the metal semi-circles and rectangles that blanket the Sydney area. This solution serves only cyclists, and takes up an excess of valuable public space in many areas when not in use. It also does little to prevent bicycles from slowly sliding over if not propped up correctly, which often creates an ugly and cluttered area that sticks out like a sore thumb in otherwise beautiful spaces.
Designer’s Statement
To address these problems I’ve designed an elegant multi-use public furniture/bike parking solution that engages a range of users, and when not in use by cyclists sacrifices no extra space.
Process
Initial sketches exploring form/features
Refined Sketches
Scale Model
When not in use, the bench’s profile is that of a typical public bench
There’s room for up to four bikes, with the bench’s backrest creating a clean division between the seat and tires
Using some of the elements from different sketches and based off of the manufacturing processes that would typically be used for public furniture/bike parking, I created a model that would solve the problems with bike parking I had identified, and be realistic to manufacture.
The final design satisfies almost all standards for Australian public street furniture, with exception to the footprint of the bench when the locking bar is fully extended.
Renderings
