View the completed project book.

Come see our presentation of the design - Wednesday 5/13, 3:30 PM, 5th floor, RISD Architecture Building, 231 South Main St. Providence (map). Hint: it's across the street from the Cable Car Cinema.

All are welcome, but the door is card access, so RSVP to Mike (meng@recycleabike.org / 805-234-1032) if you plan on coming, and please arrive promptly.

Currently what we have on site is this:


Two trailers parked on the Steel Yard site. They have names, actually. The one on the left is packed with parts; the one on the right is chock full of bicycles and frames. Additionally there are bikes and wheels stored underneath. We just received a donation of about 100 bikes from Brown University, so there are quite a bit more now than are represented in this photo.

Nick made a model in SketchUp of a more workable adaptation of the trailers as a first phase of the building.

I'm realizing that architecture can only take us so far. We can design until we are blue in the face, but there are certain things we can't create out of thin air.

We are not just designing a building. We are re-designing an organization.

That involves a few things.

1. a strategic plan for growth
2. a team to see the strategic plan through
3. a staff to run the programs and continue to guide the vision
4. a building after all
5. a fundraising campaign to realize construction

Here's an idea for the development of the organization in terms of staff / volunteers, cash flow, and programs.

Nick and I presented to a fairly large crowd of Steel Yard and Recycle-a-Bike notables. It was a good reality check for us. We are most likely going to have to build the project in phases as the organization develops and design for that process.

Clay Rockefeller (co-founder of The Steel Yard) suggested doing a fundraiser where we clear out as much of the current stockpile of bikes as we can on site and start fresh. Getting bikes in has never been the problem. Getting them out the door has.

Below are some quick 3D studies for the schematic designs we've been developing.

Container + Canopy

Folding Container

Modular Frame

Trailer Reuse

Workyard

The revised team got together today for our first meeting of the spring semester. New student member Marty Cline and faculty advisor Erik Nelson were brought up to speed on the work completed over wintersession.

Nick, Marty and Erik reviewing schematic design options.

An update to the Workyard schematic from the previous post - this shows a reconfiguration of the work benches and allows for more storage in the winter / more workspace in the summer.

Summer

The adjustable walls open to the outdoor area to allow for ventilation.

Winter

Only three workbenches, and the thermal envelope is only the right half of the schematic. Adjustable walls are shut (obviously).

Below are five initial schematics we came up with for this first round. A few are based on used shipping containers, which are a viable option for the project in terms of cost and material re-use. One is based on re-using the trailers that currently hold Recycle-a-Bike's part and bike storage while we are in transit with our space.

Container + Canopy

Two containers spaced out with a canopy structure covering both of the containers and enclosing the space between them.

Folding Containers

Read more

Some very preliminary ideas for how the units of the space could be laid out.

Section views:

Plan views: