Green facade in Korea

http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/ann-demeulemeester-shop/384/

foto shopping spree

...is not coming along as quickly as planned. As I mentioned Sunday, in a rare turn of events, my office is extremely busy right now so I haven't been able to invest my mornings (as I normally would be able to) toward non-work-related efforts.

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

Heres a few images from the scanning bollard I sketched-up on ssssKetchup:


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.

RFID Diagram

Useful links - Check them out

The Paris Bike Share and the problems it has faced http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/world/europe/31bikes.html?hp

Paying with a cell phone: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/using-a-cellphone-number-to-pay-for-virtual-goods/?hp

RFID and Danish bikes: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/12/rfid_lights_up.php
http://www.see-mi.dk/Default.aspx?ID=91

Private bike rental and pricing in Kobenhavn: http://cykelboersen.dk/en/priser/
http://www.cph-bike-rental.dk/

RFID-zones for parking

the scale is a little off on this, imagine the hex would enshroud via "graffiti" landscaping 10-15 bikes.  this shows a little less than that. 

smaller hexagons are at a scale of one RFID can grow from the center-void hex.  they are mainly graphic paint applied to the sidewalk and the streetscape.  ("outside the box" in the concept of free-form parking opportunity)  the larger hexagon footprints include poched pods which are silos.  that's about 300 bikes per hex-pod.  on the surface, it's only about 10-15.  also, planning on getting this image to be closer to something like this:

with black white and grays

copenhagen bike parking

nice

More reclaimed bike racks

This is the rack that is at the vegan bakery just down the street from my house in Ohio.

I like the use of rims as well as frames although I don't know if this is the best design possible.

...look what i made!

This is what I've been working on the past few days:






I've got a .skp file i can e-mail if anyone wants to play with it and get a specific view. I'm going to work on building the silo in sketchup (finally) today/tonight and then I'm going to photoshop them into some of the images Brandon took so they look at home, and that should provide us with some good visual material for the booklet/boards.

Please let me know what you think about this scheme for a "satellite hub" to the share system. Each Bollard is a stand-alone unit that is hard-wired into the municipal utilities, and is a secure way to store the Kø bikes as well as privately owned bicycles.

Features:

• RFID Reader aligns with head-tube of Kø bike (where RFID tag will go) and communicates with the real-time database for the online component.
• Powder coated steel bollard and lock-ring adequitely resist corrosion in harsh and salinated conditions (seaside)
• User Interface features standard 10 button numerical pad for manual operation (non-member use), a short-range RFID reader compatible with bank cards and membership card, a magnetic strip swipe for standard bank/credit cards; and a big, friendly screen for visual confirmation and information.
• A happy looking flower pot is integrated into the top of the prefabricated bollard and filled with soil and a nice flower. The pot drains through a week-hole (not modeled) at the base of the bollard to allow for the plant's natural aspiration from both above and below.
• Nice blue colour mimics that of the copenhagen bike lanes, reaffirming their connection to Copenhagen's transportation and ambulation network.

So I would like people to wiegh in on a few things with regard to the design of the bollards. things like color, function, useability, etc... Though bear in mind there are a couple of obvious problems with the design which I will explain away right now...

I figured the lock ring going around the head tube was the simplest and most efficient manner for locking given the propensity for trash and scum to collect in those wheel-slot locking systems. I think we should definitely use more economical anti-wheel-theft solutions such as keyed skewers:


The maintenance worker could be the only ones with access to a key that would release the wheel.

Also, I know the bike is red and not yellow like in Philip's diagrams, but a.) that color can be quickly changed in sketchup; and b.) red or yellow bollards look either like safety equipment or dumb so blue, being the next primary color, worked best and looked the nicest to me, but then with a bunch of yellow bikes all around it started to look like a lo-fi IKEA ad.

Finally, I know the bike isn't quite the same as Philip's design, I tried to find a model of a city bike that I could tweak to look like ours but this was as close as I could get without surpassing my abilities in sketchup/modeling for days on end...

mapping people densities

mapping out across some of the bike lane streets  (pink) some routes that our tourists (yellow) or locals (blue) might take to get around.   Also placing some hexagon footprints near the train stations in a variety of capacities as well.  Some other ones near where a larger train station one might run out of space or bikes and could overflow to a piazza a few blocks away, which may benefit from having a 2-or-3 configuration on its own anyway.
Also looking into Jan Gehl on Caitlin's recommendation who is responsible for designating streets for pedestrians or cycles or whatnot.

...scans n' things

So I finally got around to scanning and playing with (a la photoshop) my many sketches; here are a few for your general amusement/use:

First there was this thing:

Not terribly relevant now, I know, but here for the sake of posterity nonetheless.

Next is that silly diagram thing I did explaining how bikes would be dredged out of the harbor for re-use... While I agree with Philip that this might not be the best idea for bikes intended to be ridden, perhaps a similar diagram could be used to explain how they are converted into bike racks, for instance.


And then there's the silo...

conceptual sketch

sketch showing implementation in front of the størmagasinet. (I think this one looked a lot better before I got all whimsical with the colouring.)

Sketch showing broader implementation at the Kongens Nytorv metro station.

In photoshop, I added some moody tones. Strangely, whenever I imagine Copenhagen, it's always dark out...

And then some colour... (As I mentioned above, for some reason, I frequently feel as though I destroy some of my best sketches by colouring them, but photoshop proved to be an ally in that regard [note the awesome foliage I added!!])

...Ninjas on the net

Just so I have this handy for the meeting in an hour and a half, I'd mentioned these diagrams that are posted to the site ArchitectureMNP. Every week they post links to interesting stuff in the NOTN posts, but they(him, her?) always sticks a real interesting map or diagram at the top of each.

All streets in the US.

'objects orbiting earth'.

internet connections in europe

Cartogram showing countries' military spending

Fun stuff to say the least. Check out Ninjas on the Net posts here. There are lots of really interesting things linked in the posts too, though much of it would be only loosely related to what we're working on.

Anyway, i thought some of these might inform our graphic description of the network of bikes throughout danmark. perhaps we could make some approximation of useage and directionality and make a sweet map that could serve as an example of what their traffic analysts and urban planners would see from the incessant stream of RFID and GPS information coming in.

See y'all soon...

...Bike Silo (in the nick of time)

Hey,
I managed to make use of my boss' absence today and bang out a plan and section of the bike silo in CAD. Check it out---->


(click to check out the largeness)

This is a nine story tower of bikes and has a maximum capacity of 270 bicycles (30 per level)!!!! This one is nearly eighty feet tall from the top of the giant cog to the ground; but obviously it can be made lower in conformation with the surrounding structures..

Unfortunately I'm not going to have time to print this out for tonight so I'm e-mailing out a PDF copy of it so we can at least look at it on the computer... Its 1/4"=1'-0" scale on ARCHD paper (24x36)

bike silos coming along smoothly

here's a jpeg of a PDF of the receptacle that bike silo patrons will encounter (in elevation).. the tags and leaders are intended for our benefit only (obviously someone more apt at graphic programs will have to "sex up" my dwgs), I wouldn't want our submission to be as dry as CAD.

Anyway, I'm hoping to have a section and some details (maybe) of the silo itself by tonight... I just had to figure out this thing so I can extrapolate the appropriate size and mechanics of the silo.
More to come...

STORAGE: green wall [images]

wire mesh

ivy, greenery

porous

a quick collage with the Copenhagen skyline [to be worked on further]:

SMIT's GROW

All this talk about ivy covered bike silos and solar and wind power harvesting has me thinking about the group SMIT and their research product GROW. The team was founded by a Pratt ID student and his sister the main product of the venture being his thesis project. I do believe most of us know their newest partner Ben Howes who graduated from Pratt architecture in '06. The system uses bio-mimicking leaf shaped pieces to harness solar and wind power.

"...GROW employs thin film photovoltaics with piezoelectric generators and screen printed conductive ink encapsulated in ETFE fluoropolymer lamination... Based around a modular brick system, GROW is composed of a small number of different parts. Each brick has 5 solar leaves which have a very flexible piezo generator at their stem. The manufacturing of these bricks could happen in a roll to roll printing process where PV, conductive ink, and piezo generators can be layered quickly and efficiently. The rolls can then be stamped and formed to create leaves and connection points. Each brick is designed so that at the end of their life cycle the valuable components, i.e. photovoltaic and piezo, can be stamped out and up cycled while the reusable material, i.e plastic, can be up recycled back into the production stream."


This is the blog from their early days in the venture and their current official site. Their solar ivy is due out this fall as a full working prototype/product line.

... and they have already had a piece of the Copenhagen action, they exhibited in the CPH Design Week 09.

bikeoff

i keep going back to this site every morning and then twelve browser tabs later can not remember how i arrived to my most current article.... it has a really well organized design resource section that has a huge selection of case studies and all their links and then a fair summary with pros and cons and enough images to get your mind brainstorming for our own intents.

...and the bike parking guidelines may as well be the closest thing i have seen to a bicycle rack graphic standards.... there is a pretty involved wiki and parking guidelines consultation blog

RFID

I was writing back and forth with my brother and he has explained to me the infeasibility of GPS units in the bicycles. This is because of several good reasons:

1. cost prohibitive; the cost of outfitting a bike with GPS cound cost more than the bike itself.
2. not maintenance free; how would you service it if it was embedded in the frame for theft reasons?
3. power; establishing a way to provide enough power to send/receive data requires more than a hub generator... lights only take a few watts but GPS is a different story.

So we started chatting about RFID as he began to convince me of the negatives associated with GPS technology and after ward I did some research about different frequencies of Radio Frequency IDentification.


This company I found, SMARTRAC, makes different RFID products for handling information as simple as a serial number to as complicated as bank account information. Lamenting the impracticality of GPS (which would be a really cool, though cliche) I had an idea:

At races of all kind RFID is used determine the exact start and stop times of individual racerswith sensors over or next to the roadway.... Why don't we do the same thing here. like cellphone relay boxes, a powered RFID reader could ascertain in real-time the number and information of bikes passing that point. This isn't nearly as cost prohibitive of a system as GPS in thousands and thousands of bikes that will all conceivably somewhat different (especially if we dredge bikes out of the harbor). They could be attached like parasites on the sides of lamposts, that would feed a multitude of information (speed, direction, time, density relative rideable lane width, etc...) to a central database, as well as function with our zip-car styled share network online.

It could be like the bike counter that was mentioned here a while back


Also, I hate to plagarize, but the latest post about a bike parking area in DC uses a really clever rack system whose function is very clever... this pic pretty much says it all:


Anywho, thats what I've been doing recently, sorry about not making it last night... see y'all sunday.

Criteria

Here are some notes on the criteria:
[see above BMP for visual references. unfortunately blogger doesnt accept PDF files - so i had to export as a BMP - click on the image to enlarge.]


# 4.1.1 The Bicycle Design

BUILT IN components:
-GPS to generate real-live web application for smartphones, internet and available at display screens at main stations [this can be used as a planning tool by learning from patterns and therefore being able to plan in a smarter way.]
-accessories: lights, rack, basket, rear lock, solar power

RE-USE abandoned bicycles? 8,000 bicycles were abandoned in 2008 alone. In what way can these be re-used? ... create community-bonding workshops on bicycle mechanics and building workshop using these salvaged bicycles... ? Use the salvaged bicycle parts to reconstruct some of the stations?

3 types of bicycles, in 2 sizes, for a TOTAL OF 6 types of bicycles.
-townie. 3-speed. [commuter/tourist/copenhagener]
-cargo. [copenhagener]
-salvaged bicycles. [commuter/tourist/copenhagener]

2 sizes:
one to fit 4ft-5ft
one to fit 5ft+
???


# 4.1.2 Storage

Currently there are 34,800 parking spaces, including 1,000 mobile racks.

With the figure of 37% of residents biking to their school or workplace, that means that 150,000 cyclists enter Copenhangen every morning. There is a great need for more parking racks.

Solutions:
-Create more stations for the bike share, and allow for private bicycle owners to use these facilities. Private bicycle owners can tap into this system by paying a minimal yearly fee, which would help generate some revenue for the bike share program.
-Design and implement a modular parking system. These can be available for sale to commercial entities so that they can attract customers. This will create revenue for the bike share program. This type of solution would intelligently solve the issue with privatization of city sidewalks [if one exists, as it does in New York City].
-Utilize the unused wall space for a vertical parking solution.
-Utilize vacant lots for a vertical parking solution.


# 4.1.3 Booking Access and Payment

Commuter: booking and payment can be done online and/or on smartphone. Minimal annual fees for upkeep and maintenance.

Tourist: primarily deals with booking and payment at the physical stations, usually in the main squares. Payment is structured more like a minimal charged rental.

Copenhagener: booking and payment can be done online and/or on smartphone. Minimal annual fees for upkeep and maintenance.

Research other cities’ booking access and payment programs.
Paris, Lyon, Barcelona, Beijing, etc

How to generate revenue to maintain the bike share:
-modular bike racks [private commercial businesses]
-advertisement ‘space’ on bicycles and station kiosks and shelters


# 4.2.1 Overall Design Concept

Bicycle share name... ?

"If it’s monuments you’re after in Copenhagen, don’t look up. Look all around you, right there at street level. Our greatest monument is motion. It is a massive, constant, rhythmic and life-sized legacy."

free form
immediacey
dynamic
inter-connectivity
decentralized
real time
scale- micro macro
interplay
urbanity
inter reactionary
trifecta

A physical infrastructure is integral in a successful bike share [bicycles, racks, pick-up/drop off stations, bike tracks/lanes, etc]. In this proposal, a digital infrastructure is also integral in the success of the bike share [GPS on the bicycles, GIS application - Google mashup -, text messaging, etc].

GPS to generate real-live web application for smartphones, internet and available at display screens at main stations.


# 4.2.2 Design and Form

Copenhagen blue [bike lane]

Utilize a strong branding identity. [Historic emblems, color] BOLD, SYMBOLIC.
One way to think about using the city symbol: Create the station, and on the shelter, enlarge the logo so it becomes more of an abstraction.

Propose stages for implementation:
Once these stages have been created, the program can advance to a further state depending on
demand/need, as seen fit by the City.

Stage 1 - X amount of bicycles, X amount of parking spaces, X amount of stations, etc.
Stage 2 - As the program is deemed successful and there is more demand, increase in amount of bicycles, parking spaces, stations, etc.
Stage 3 - As the program expands, increase... and institute more solutions for the increase of bicycles and space for storage - use empty walls for a vertical solution; use vacant lots, etc.

Each stage becomes increasingly more complex in terms of increase of fleet, increase in parking, etc - general increase in the infrastructure.


# 4.2.3 Visibility User Friendliness and Logistics

Utilize a strong branding identity. [Historic emblems, color] BOLD, SYMBOLIC.

Utilize lighting system. Look to the symbolism in the NYC Transit system’s lighting - the glow of the Green orb when a station is open. Use the same soft, glowing but vibrant and intense type of light at the bike share stations. The stations’ level of illumination corresponds with the stations’ bicycle availability.


# 4.2.4 Interaction with the City

With growing popularity of cycling and the implementation of the new bike share, cycle track congestion proves as a challenge for city planners.

Prime motive for cycling: more and wider cycle tracks and fewer cars.

2015 GOALS:
- 50% of people will go to their work place or educational institution in Copenhagen by bike. [In 2008 , 37%]
- The number of seriously injured cyclists in Copenhagen to be halved compared to today. [118 cyclists]
- At least 80% of cyclists in Copenhagen to feel safe and secure in traffic [58%]


quick idea of how we can represent our 3 personas:

Fun with Acronyms

9 letter word(s):

DECLASSED.




8 letter word(s):

DECLASSE.




7 letter word(s):

CAPLESS, CLAPPED, CLASPED, CLASSED, DAPPLED, DAPPLES, DECADES, DECLASS, DELEADS, ELAPSED, ELAPSES, ESCAPED, ESCAPES, PADDLES, PEDALED, PEDDLES, PESADES, PLEADED, PLEASED, PLEASES, SADDLES, SCALDED, SCALPED, SEPALED, SLAPPED, SLEAZES.




6 letter word(s):

ADDLES, APPELS, APPLES, ASLEEP, CAPPED, CEASED, CEASES, CESSED, CLADES, CLASPS, CLEPED, CLEPES, DAPPED, DAPPLE, DECADE, DECALS, DELEAD, EASELS, ELAPSE, ESCAPE, JESSED, LAPPED, LAPSED, LAPSES, LEADED, LEAPED, LEASED, LEASES, PADDLE, PADLES, PALPED, PASSED, PASSEE, PASSEL, PEACED, PEACES, PEALED, PEASES, PEDALS, PEDDLE, PESADE, PLACED, PLACES, PLEADS, PLEASE, SADDLE, SALEPS, SAPPED, SCALDS, SCALED, SCALES, SCALPS, SCAPED, SCAPES, SEALED, SEPALS, SLEAZE, SLEEPS, SPACED, SPACES, SPADED, SPADES, SPALES, SPEEDS, SPEELS, ZAPPED.




5 letter word(s):

ADDLE, ADZED, ADZES, AEDES, ALECS, APPEL, APPLE, APSES, CADES, CAPED, CAPES, CASED, CASES, CEASE, CEDED, CEDES, CEPES, CLADE, CLADS, CLAPS, CLASP, CLASS, CLEPE, DACES, DALES, DAZED, DAZES, DEADS, DEALS, DECAL, DEDAL, DEEDS, DEEPS, DELED, DELES, EASED, EASEL, EASES, JADED, JADES, JAPED, JAPES, JEEPS, JESSE, LACED, LACES, LADED, LADES, LAPSE, LASED, LASES, LAZED, LAZES, LEADS, LEAPS, LEASE, LESES, PACED, PACES, PADLE, PALED, PALES, PALPS, PASES, PASSE, PEACE, PEALS, PEASE, PEDAL, PEDES, PEELS, PEEPS, PELES, PEPLA, PLACE, PLEAD, PLEAS, SADES, SALEP, SALES, SALPS, SCADS, SCALD, SCALE, SCALP, SCAPE, SEALS, SEEDS, SEELS, SEEPS, SEPAL, SLAPS, SLEDS, SLEEP, SPACE, SPADE, SPAED, SPAES, SPALE, SPECS, SPEED, SPEEL, ZEALS.




4 letter word(s):

ACED, ACES, ADDS, ADZE, AJEE, ALEC, ALEE, ALES, ALPS, APED, APES, APPS, APSE, ASPS, CADE, CADS, CAPE, CAPS, CASE, CEDE, CEES, CELS, CEPE, CEPS, CESS, CLAD, CLAP, DACE, DADS, DALE, DALS, DAPS, DAZE, DEAD, DEAL, DEED, DEEP, DEES, DELE, DELS, EASE, EELS, ELDS, ELSE, ESES, JADE, JAPE, JEED, JEEP, JEES, JEEZ, JESS, LACE, LACS, LADE, LADS, LAPS, LASE, LASS, LAZE, LEAD, LEAP, LEAS, LEES, LESS, PACE, PACS, PADS, PALE, PALP, PALS, PAPS, PASE, PASS, PEAL, PEAS, PECS, PEDS, PEED, PEEL, PEEP, PEES, PELE, PEPS, PLEA, PLED, SACS, SADE, SALE, SALP, SALS, SAPS, SCAD, SEAL, SEAS, SECS, SEED, SEEL, SEEP, SEES, SELS, SLAP, SLED, SPAE, SPAS, SPAZ, SPEC, SPED, ZAPS, ZEAL, ZEDS, ZEES, ZEPS.




3 letter word(s):

ACE, ADD, ADS, ADZ, ALE, ALP, ALS, APE, APP, ASP, ASS, CAD, CAP, CEE, CEL, CEP, DAD, DAL, DAP, DEE, DEL, EDS, EEL, ELD, ELS, ESS, JEE, LAC, LAD, LAP, LAS, LEA, LED, LEE, LES, LEZ, PAC, PAD, PAL, PAP, PAS, PEA, PEC, PED, PEE, PEP, PES, SAC, SAD, SAE, SAL, SAP, SEA, SEC, SEE, SEL, SPA, ZAP, ZAS, ZED, ZEE, ZEP.




2 letter word(s):

AD, AE, AL, AS, DE, ED, EL, ES, LA, PA, PE, ZA.

(all the labels did not fit in one post's label world 200 characer min.)