The president will take part in the conference Dec. 9 before heading to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. The White House announcement Wednesday ended heavy speculation about whether Obama would attend the summit amid expectations that it likely will not produce a binding climate agreement." ...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Meet the President
The president will take part in the conference Dec. 9 before heading to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. The White House announcement Wednesday ended heavy speculation about whether Obama would attend the summit amid expectations that it likely will not produce a binding climate agreement." ...
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Isabella & friends
After Isabella and her companion cross the bridge into Christianshavn and turn onto a side street, they find themselves at a gate to the freetown, Christiania. They proceed to cycle slowly around the small enclave but quickly realize that they would like to just stroll down the colorful paths on battlements and have no need for bicycles for a while. Fortunately for them, the residents of Christiania were gracious enough to allow the city government to install several of the RFID bollards around the area to help curb rampant bike theft in the area.
Since the bollard only takes note of RFID-tagged objects within it's range as shown with the Kø Share logo applied to the pavement around it, the residents enjoy leaving their bikes as they always have. As most people would, they like knowing that if their tagged bike were to be stolen and the theft is reported to the Kø Share system, It would only be a matter of time before a bollard alerted the Kø system that the stolen bike was nearby.
Knowing they hadn't ridden for more than thirty minutes coming from ____ in the city, Isabella was happy to see that the bollard verified this by displaying her start time and elapsed time as soon as she brought her bike within the edges of the Kø Logo and sent an sms to the system. Using the touch screen on the bollard, Isabella is asked, "færdig?" (finished?) Since she wants to leave the bike she taps "Ja," and the wheel lock on her bike snaps shut, immobilizing it. If she merely wanted to see the elapsed time, or had a mechanical problem with her Kø Share bike, she would tap "Nej," after which the screen would prompt her with a menu. From this menu she could also call police, fire, or medical emergency assistance.
After a long lunch in a quaint little cafe, the girls decide to head toward the town hall and visit Tivoli. They are surprised to find that the specific Kø bikes they had originally gotten were missing and all the rest of the bikes were peoples personal bikes which were not free to take. Using her smartphone with wireless internet, Isabella logs into the Kø website and uses the real-time information to learn that another bollard with several bikes in a variety of sizes are nearby.
She sends an sms to the share system with the ID number of the bike she would like to use, and the bollard unlocks that specific bike, starting her next thirty minues of free use. her friend, not having officially registered with the system, only needs to tap her Kø card on the bollard's RFID reader and manually type in the ID number of the bike she would like to use.
The two friends finally arrive at Tivoli Gardens well within the time limit before charges are incurred, and part with their trusty bikes at another bollard....
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Architect's tects
One day, while he is riding on the train, reviewing the day's agenda, he looks up and sees an advertisement for the Kø share. This strikes him as a good alternative to spending company funds being ferried around in an automobile and he knows it would please his wife, who is constantly nagging him about his slight weight problem. Deciding to give cycling a try, he logs onto the Kø website on his laptop computer and easily registers as a user of the bike share system.
Upon arriving at the train depot, he makes his way to the densest bicycle storage system ever concived, the Kø Silo, to retrieve the bike he reserved not an hour earlier. The process is alarmingly simple; he passes his company credit card over the integrated RFID card reader at the silo's kiosk and within seconds, out comes a bike through the small doors at its front. He notices that the bicycle is a large, just as he had specified online given his body type, and marvels at the sleek design and ingenuity of the system.
John can see, through the verdant foliage protruding from the silo's porous exterior, some of the inner-workings of the silo itself. He sees that it is a modular stack of rotating racks where each level can hold up to thirty bicycles positioned vertically in individual carrels. As he passes his credit card over the reader at the kiosk, the internal network identifies which bicycle John reserved and rotates it into position above him where a massive chain engages that bicycle's rack and lowers it gently down to him at ground level.
After removing his new Kø bike from the carrel, the silo retracts it and the doors close, ready for another user to call on a bike or return one they had been using.
During his day, he makes many short stops between meetings, lunch, more meetings, and finally a quick stop at the National Library for a bit of research for an upcoming project. Normally this would constitute a considerable charge to his firm's expense account given the number of taxis required; but today he is traveling by bike, the most economic and ecological mode of transportation aside from walking. At each of his stops, he easily finds a Kø Share bollard where his rented bike can be stowed.
Once again he is intrigued by the simplicity of the tall, blueish-gray steel post with an illuminated top. Once the bike comes in range of the bollard, and he verifies that he is done using it, a signal is sent out to the wheel lock on his bike, causing it to engage. The RFID technology embedded in each element of the Kø Share makes it possible for them to keep track of one another. The silos and bollards communicate directly with each bicycle and provide real-time information for the system to utilize in helping others locate nearby bikes, and for urban planners and architects, such as himself to study where exactly the bikes are being taken most often, as well as places they are not going.
The Kø Share method of tracking bicycles appeals to John because it isn't heavy-handed or paranoid; rather there is merely a watchful eye noting where things are, facilitating reorganization, future infrastructural adjustment, and sociological study.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Revised CAD action
the commuter
Images pertaining to the tourist girls

Perhaps then, being the more prepared of the two (having pre-registered online), Isabella double checks her smartphone to see where the nearest Kø bollards are located using the real-time GPS comprehensively built into the whole Kø share system, and conveniently located on the website.

At this point the girls have made it to the liberal Christiania. Smelling the aroma of coffee wafting through the air and itching to get faced off an epic spliff, the girls dismount and locate one of literally thousands of Copenhagen's RFID bollards that require no lock, no key, and no worries...

Alas, many other residents of christiania have outfitted their personal bikes with RFID tags so the Kø system can keep a watchful eye over them, compliments of Kø, of course. This doesn't deter the girls' ability to stow their bikes nonetheless, when you don't have to lock your bike, many more can fit in a smaller space since there is no need for an array of racks or posts.

Since their trip from Radhus Plads to Christiania was rather short, they have used just over half of their first thirty minutes of use, which is always complementary. However, they know that since they'll likely be really fucking blitzed withing their remaining time, they opt to return their bikes to the system for others to use.
This process is quite simple: Once the Kø bike is within the area of the painted hexagons on the ground, the bollard will sense both the bike's presence and its inactivity. When you approach the bollard, either a magnetically or RFID encoded form of identification can be used to rapidly communicate with the system. It is aware that you are likely returning your bicycle, so the first prompt looks something like this:

In big, friendly letters, the bollard asks, "finished?" (færdig?) All that is required if you are, is to hit "YES" (JA)! If you are in need of mechanical assistance, emergency assistance, or simply want to check your elapsed time, hit "NO" (NEJ), you will be given several options to choose from.
The weed brownies sloshing pleasantly in stomachs filled with coffee, the girls feel that it is time to head to the trippy land of Tivoli! Even though the major Kø hub, the silo, is not two full blocks away, there is another conveniently placed bollard toward the rear of the amusement park where they decide to finally part with their trusty bikes and spend the evening dining and waxing nostalgic (as all italians love to do) in the beautiful floral enclave that is Tivoli.

Yadda yadda yadda. I'm going to actually edit that down a bit to not include my personal opinions on lascivious drug use and whatnot, don't worry.
Did I miss anything?
Oh yeah, Phil and Emily, I'll be e-mailing the full-size images to you very soon, some are bigger than others... I'm not very good about being terribly consistent with the exact resolution though they should all be pretty crisp and clear on the printed page.
some map images
basically i traced out some paths that a tourist (yellow) would make and paths that a local (blue) would make based on some colors that caitlin gave me.
actually no one has really ever commented on anything i have ever posted and when i look back there are a few different map images that might be useful even now.
ideas for booklet pages [post 100!]
page 6 sketch:

the images are placeholders - Erik is working on photoshopping.
perhaps, this type of contextual photo/drawing diagram could be implemented for page 14 as well.
PAGE 14 [Darius]: Harry has 4 meetings around town. Show his itinerary and his use of the bollard system and silo. Also, show that he uses a cargo bike at the end of his work day to go grocery shopping.
Map Template
... the architect's page(s?)
Monday, November 9, 2009
Night Render
PAGE 12
Composite Image
Here's my first attempt in creating a composite image of the silo within the context of Copenhagen. The image was created first by importing the background into Rhino, followed by adjusting the camera and lighting to best capture the silo within the setting. If anyone needs a specific camera angle of the silo to play around with in photoshop, please send me your pics. I think this process is the most effecient option, as oppose to creating a swath of renderings from multiple angles that may still not line up correctly with images you all have chosen.
Submission material
-PDF of booklet
-2 A1 panels
-40 slides in, for example, a powerpoint presentation.
-unlocked PDF format and in JPG format. There must be a separate file for each illustration.
-'tear sheet' of the project: a picture/an illustration of their proposals as well as a brief written description of the proposal. The picture/illustration must be submitted in two diff erent resolutions: JPEG with 72 dpi and a maximum of 300 x 300 pixels, and JPEG with the highest possible resolution. The text may not exceed 500 characters including spaces.
10 copies of printed booklet.
from the criteria:
8.1.2 Digital Material
Each entry should contain three [3] CD-R’s/DVD’s with
the following content:
Digital concept material
Digital material should include all the necessary information.
A description and a visualisation in sketch form and
3D renderings of the concept in relation to Chapter 4. The
description and visualisation must not exceed 40 slides
in, for example, a powerpoint presentation.
Digital illustrations, photos and drawings
• All illustrations and texts included in the entry
should be prepared for reproduction in the jury’s
report. Illustrations should be in an unlocked
PDF format and in JPG format. There must be a
separate file for each illustration.
• A PDF file with a description booklet.
• For web and exhibition use, entrants are requested
to submit a picture/an illustration of their
proposals as well as a brief written description
of the proposal. The picture/illustration must be
submitted in two diff erent resolutions: JPEG with
72 dpi and a maximum of 300 x 300 pixels, and
JPEG with the highest possible resolution. The
text may not exceed 500 characters including
spaces. Entrants are free to choose the illustration
they believe best presents their proposal
to the broad range of people who will visit the
website or possible exhibitions.
• A PDF file with the concept material in the form
of panels, in case of the material being exhibited.
The panel should be two A1 panels [594 x 841].
The material should be ready to print as panels.
• The CDs must be provided with the chosen fivedigit
identifi cation number.
8.1.3. Description Booklet
Ten copies of the entry in the form of A4 booklets
must be submitted. Each booklet must contain the
following:
• Illustrations and text provided in the concept.
• Maximum 15 pages.
• The fi ve-digit identifi cation number must be
written on the booklets.
Page 4 and Page 5
PAGE 4:
Isabella is on the train to København from Hamburg, and she recalls running into a fellow backpacker who informs her about København’s new bike share, Kø.
She decides to enable her wifi card on her laptop so she can check out the Kø bike share’s website. She remembers hearing how easy it was to use and a great way to get around the city.
The website’s main purpose is to generate membership with the Kø bike share program. The membership durations range from 24 hours to 12 months, purposely allowing for all types of users to gain access to the program. For instance, a tourist would likely sign up for a 7 day membership; while a commuter would may opt for a 30 day or 12 month membership. The 24 hour membership is intended for first time users who want to explore the system before committing, or for those who enjoy using the bike share but will do so infrequently. All membership fees will be determined in the future once a survey is conducted to find the appropriate price point.
The web-based membership sign-up will enable the city of København to keep track of how many users they have. This tracking system will allow the city to monitor the demand and need for more bicycles and necessary infrastructure. Another advantage to this system is to keep track of payment. When a user provides their credit card information for the initial membership fees, then they can be accountable [billed] for their use of the bike share when their trips exceed 30 minutes. This form of billing will be explained in more detail in the Terms and Agreements. Lastly, the web-based application will allow members to log-in when they want to re-new membership, and also review customized information, ie: their history of pick-up and drop-off locations to create a sense of ownership and an awareness of their interaction with the city.
Isabella is in København for 6 days, so she opts for the 7 day membership and pays by credit card.
[text on the page is not in line with the booklet template.]
Isabella and her friend check into their hotel, and then they venture out into the København to explore the city. They’ve decided to utilize the Kø bike share in order to get around the city. They specifically want to see Christiania.
At the Kø silo in the major square near Langebro, Isabella picks up her pre-paid Kø card.
When Isabella is at the Kø kiosk, she is prompted to swipe her credit card so that the machine can identify her pre-paid membership.
Then the interactive LCD screen informs her of the specifics of the Kø bike share program: First 30 minutes are free. Every time the bicycle is unlocked, the first free 30 minutes starts.
If she runs over the 30 minutes, then she will be incrementally charged 10 DKK, on her credit card. And as an incentive to promote membership with the Kø bike share program, Isabella receives an additional perk with her pre-paid Kø card; one example of this would be a coupon for a discount into the Tivoli Gardens or a discount at a local cafe.
Isabella’s friend pays by cash, including the low-fee deposit, in order to obtain a Kø card. We recommend the cash deposit to be in the amount of 250DKK. Another way to obtain the Kø card by paying with cash is at a local business partner that sells the card. The Kø card can be returned to any of the Kø silos or kiosks located at main transportation hubs throughout the city; ie: Central Station or the Airport.
The girls obtain their Kø bike share bicycles and head out to Christiania.
[collage subject to change when we have more finished renderings]
[text on the page is not in line with the booklet template.]
if you have any comments, please share. thanks!
**updates in bold
Sunday, November 8, 2009
BOOKLET [assignments] - DUE DATE TUES NOV 10
ALL CONTENT of your assigned pages is DUE TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10 at midnight.
Post your stuff on the blog and email the your final content to Philip so he can layout the booklet [high resolution jpegs, pdfs, ai files WITH THE LINKED FILES].
Title page [Darius] sexy rendering of logo and texture of silo.
PAGE 1 [Zack/Sherry]: Introduction to our bike share proposal. Overall explanation of the criteria: bike design, storage, booking access and payment, intro to our concept of presenting our proposal thru the narratives of the 3 personas. Mostly copy/text.
PAGE 2 [Zack/Erik]: Sexy and compelling image and/or a collage of supporting images from our proposal according to the criteria.
Tourist[s]:
PAGE 3 [Caitlin]: Tourist [Isabella] and her itinerary, with her symbol [backpack]. Biography given in the criteria.
Naples, Italy. She has just arrived at
Copenhagen Central Station on a train
from Hamburg. She is Interrailing around
Europe with her friend and it is her fi rst
visit to Copenhagen. As soon as the girls
have checked in at the hotel near Lange-
bro and deposited their bags in the room
they want to visit Christiania. Isabella is
158 cm tall and weighs 49 kg.
PAGE 5 [Emily]: Isabella and friend at silo. Friend is purchasing RFID card, paying by cash - and Isabella is picking up pre-booked RFID card. Since Isabella booked online, she receives an additional perk, a coupon for a discount into the Tivoli Gardens.
PAGE 6 [Erik]: Bollards placed on tourist's itinerary, explains first 30 minutes free.
Commuter:
PAGE 7 [Caitlin]: Commuter [John Madsen] and his itinerary, with his symbol [?]. Biography given in the criteria.
studio in Denmark’s second-largest city, Aarhus,
located 300 km from Copenhagen. John attends
meetings in Copenhagen several times a week.
He usually travels by train in business class from
Aarhus to Copenhagen and takes a taxi from the
Central Station to his end destination, which is
usually in the city centre. John enjoys taking the
train as he can work on the journey but he often
fi nds it irritating to have to sit in traffic in the taxi
on the short three kilometre journey from the
train station in Copenhagen. John is 190 cm tall
and weighs 93 kg.
PAGE 9 [Darius]: John arrives at the Central Station and checks out bike sizes and specs at a silo. Sexy rendering.
PAGE 10 [Erik]: More detail about the silo - show section and John's intrigue with the design, since he is an architect.
Copenhagener:
PAGE 11 [Caitlin]: Copenhagener [Harry] and his itinerary, with his symbol [?]. Biography given in the criteria.
neighbourhood. He rides his bicycle every day to his job,
where he works as a copywriter at an advertising bureau in the city
centre. He lives roughly three kilometres from work. Harry
chooses the bicycle because it is easy and quick. One mor-
ning Harry comes out of his fl at to discover that his bicy-
cle is stolen. It’ll take a week or so for him to get money
from his insurance company and to buy a new bicycle. It is
especially irritating for Harry today, as he has four meetings
around town. Harry is 175 cm tall and weighs 75 kg.
PAGE 13 [Philip]: Harry uses his smartphone to book a bicycle at a bollard near his apartment. Shows access via smart phone.
PAGE 14 [Darius]: Harry has 4 meetings around town. Show his itinerary and his use of the bollard system and silo. Also, show that he uses a cargo bike at the end of his work day to go grocery shopping.
PAGE 15 [Zack/Sherry]: Conclusion. Explain/reiterate how our proposal is visible, user friendly and interacts with the city [criterion 3 and 4]. Touch on how the bike share program can continue to exist thru making profit thru marketing. Works cited/bibliography/credits. etc
BACK PAGE
Friday, November 6, 2009
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/adding-a-sixth-sense-to-your-cellphone/?hp
XICUI Entertainment Center
Beijing, China
http://www.sgp-architects.com/
FROM MY COMMENT IN REGARDS TO THE LAST POST:
also, what about embedding the lighting within some of the hexagons [in addition to the rings of light within the skin]? - like each hexagon could be thought of like a pixel. we could project images and possibly advertisements along the skin of the silos. and these pixel hexagon lights could also reflect the storage capacity in their intensity. [see the next post for reference images]



In the latest interation, the envelope gradates (gradates is not a real word, but you get my point) from top to bottom, the top being more solid and the bottom more porous. I am also playing with lighting based on the color palette we've chosen. The last image is from a previous rendering, however, it illustrates the configuration of the site with multiple silos.Elevation of Silo with supporting elements
I threw together a scene that we can use to illustrate the silo in elevation. The bikes and trees were added to give it a sense of place and function. I imagine for our final image we can rev it up and incorporate the Copenhagen skyline into the background. Colors, graphics and supporting images are subject to revision.Thursday, November 5, 2009
notes from nov 4 meeting
***is anyone particularly interested in writing the copy for the first, introductory page? ...***
if you are interested, please let it be known. otherwise, starting tonight/tomorrow, i am going to begin sending out individual emails/phone calls to ask each team member to fulfill certain illustrations and copy for the booklet. please push back if you see it fit - but at this point, everyone needs to start pulling their own weight. this is a form of friendly encouragement - no pressure! :]
UPDATE [thanks for your notes Philip!]:
Title page
PAGE 1: Introduction to our bike share proposal. Overall explanation of the criteria: bike design, storage, booking access and payment, intro to our concept of presenting our proposal thru the narratives of the 3 personas. Mostly copy/text.
PAGE 2: Sexy and compelling image and/or a collage of supporting images from our proposal according to the criteria.
Tourist[s]:
PAGE 3: Tourist [Isabella] and her itinerary, with her symbol [backpack]. Biography given in the criteria.
Naples, Italy. She has just arrived at
Copenhagen Central Station on a train
from Hamburg. She is Interrailing around
Europe with her friend and it is her fi rst
visit to Copenhagen. As soon as the girls
have checked in at the hotel near Lange-
bro and deposited their bags in the room
they want to visit Christiania. Isabella is
158 cm tall and weighs 49 kg.
PAGE 5: Isabella and friend at silo. Friend is purchasing RFID card, paying by cash - and Isabella is picking up pre-booked RFID card. Since Isabella booked online, she receives an additional perk, a coupon for a discount into the Tivoli Gardens.
PAGE 6: Bollards placed on tourist's itinerary, explains first 30 minutes free.
Commuter:
PAGE 7: Commuter [John Madsen] and his itinerary, with his symbol [?]. Biography given in the criteria.
studio in Denmark’s second-largest city, Aarhus,
located 300 km from Copenhagen. John attends
meetings in Copenhagen several times a week.
He usually travels by train in business class from
Aarhus to Copenhagen and takes a taxi from the
Central Station to his end destination, which is
usually in the city centre. John enjoys taking the
train as he can work on the journey but he often
fi nds it irritating to have to sit in traffic in the taxi
on the short three kilometre journey from the
train station in Copenhagen. John is 190 cm tall
and weighs 93 kg.
PAGE 9: John arrives at the Central Station and checks out bike sizes and specs at a silo. Sexy rendering.
PAGE 10: More detail about the silo - show section and John's intrigue with the design, since he is an architect.
Copenhagener:
PAGE 11: Copenhagener [Harry] and his itinerary, with his symbol [?]. Biography given in the criteria.
neighbourhood. He rides his bicycle every day to his job,
where he works as a copywriter at an advertising bureau in the city
centre. He lives roughly three kilometres from work. Harry
chooses the bicycle because it is easy and quick. One mor-
ning Harry comes out of his fl at to discover that his bicy-
cle is stolen. It’ll take a week or so for him to get money
from his insurance company and to buy a new bicycle. It is
especially irritating for Harry today, as he has four meetings
around town. Harry is 175 cm tall and weighs 75 kg.
PAGE 13: Harry uses his smartphone to book a bicycle at a bollard near his apartment. Shows access via smart phone.
PAGE 14: Harry has 4 meetings around town. Show his itinerary and his use of the bollard system and silo. Also, show that he uses a cargo bike at the end of his work day to go grocery shopping.
PAGE 15: Conclusion. Explain/reiterate how our proposal is visible, user friendly and interacts with the city [criterion 3 and 4]. Touch on how the bike share program can continue to exist thru making profit thru marketing. Works cited/bibliography/credits. etc
BACK PAGE
***if you have anything else to add, please do! if you have any comments, likes or dislikes, please feel free to share :] And for the ease of communicating with one another, please refer to specific page numbers - if applicable!
also, if you have any interest in creating one of these pages - please say so in the comments and its yours! [remember, we are working in A4, landscape]
ALSO *** more FAQ has been added to their running list... read: http://www.cphbikeshare.com/Default.aspx one important thing of note is:
Question:
What is the meaning of the difference between the 15 pages and the 40 slides presentation?
More important: Which document the jury will read?
Answer:
It is optimal that you deliver both a booklet of maximum 15 pages - A4 size - in analogue
format and in 10 copies, as well as digitally on a CD-R/DVD. In addition a maximum of 40
pages in digital slide presentation format. The latter is in case the presentation being
exhibited or suchlike.
The jury will place most emphasis on the booklet.
for zack, better than chinese:
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Logistics: booking, access + payment - UPDATE

note: the right hand section will be filled with specs and a silhouetted diagram of people's sizes and what bicycle they should select.


note: will add some text above the blackberries. also, may insert renderings into the right hand section rather than the shape diagram.
foto shopping spree
Here's a teaser using one of Brandon's recent photos that I liked:

Too Batman-esque?
Obviously this image lacks at least one critical thing: bikes. I was working on re-colouring some bikes to appear as though they are part of our bike share program but didn't finish yet..
Please offer your two cents regarding the color, placement, scale, yadda yadda yadda...
scanning bollard

It's eleven feet tall with the top three feet being illuminated... The RFID reader is embedded into the base of the illuminated portion, about 8 feet up, giving it a clear "view" of all the nearby bikes.

The interface is touch-screen with a cc slider, number pad for manual entry, and of course a small RFID reader for euro cc's that are equipped with RFID tags already.

Communications equipment can be stored in the top of the illuminated portion as to communicate with the network as a whole...

Of course you gotta add a Danish flag somewhere...
I'm going to photoshop these into some of brandon's photos, or others I can find of sleepier neighborhoods...
See y'all tomorrow.























