June 30th, 2009
Commentators take pot shots at the bike storage and showers credit available in the LEED Green Building Rating System, but I’ve always liked it — it’s hard to ride a bike to work when there’s no bike rack. Certainly bike transportation is good for the environment, and Bike Arc has designed a modular bike park system that I believe will be huge in the next few years. The company incorporated the system into several designs to suit different needs: the Rac Arc is low profile, the Umbrella Arc saves space (see video below), and the Tube Arc and Half Arc versions protect vehicles from the elements.
With these designs, Bike Arc
presents an intelligent system that is elegant, compact, and safely secures bikes. So the truth is, there’s no reason not to incorporate this kind of
modular park system into more projects.
Indeed, Bike Arcs are popping up all over the place. 116 University Avenue in Palo Alto has 2 Half Arcs and 2 Rac Arcs;
Redwood City Hall has 8 Rac Arcs; and Palo Alto City will purchase 8
Half Arcs. And the company is also working on design improvements. For example, in the future, Bike Arc hopes to have a version that integrates photovoltaics. We’ll keep our eyes out for solar Bike Arcs, but in the mean time, if you see one, use it.
Renderings: Joseph Bellomo Architects; real photos: Stirling Elmendorf.
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