Reimagining the bike shelter by Arjun Chopra

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

Arjun Chopra, Student no. u1630285, CE7200 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

BRIEF

3-4

CONCEPT: THE CYCLISTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RESPITE

5-6

SITE: EXISTING BIKE SHELTER

7-9

DESIGN RULES

10-15

INFLUENCES

16-17

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

18-20

DRAWINGS

21-26

DETAIL

27-29

COSTING

30-38

PHASING

39-40

VISION

41-42

CRITIQUE

43-44

REFERENCES

45-46

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

CONTENTS

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

BRIEF

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

BRIEF As students of CAT we were invited individually to design a project intended to be built by us in the ensuing July module week, over the course of five days. The three options provided were (1) a respite for at least two people on the visitors circuit at CAT, (2) a bookshelf that could be transported from the store room to the WISE foyer, dimensioned to fit within the passenger lift or (3) an interpretation hub and bus shelter at Cwmni Cletwr, a not-for-profit community-owned organisation in a local village. Our task was to compose a report and a ten-minute slide-show presentation with the aim to convince others that our proposal should be built. The ultimate aim would be to finish the project within the allotted days, so sourcing of materials, expertise, and possibly a certain amount of prefabrication would have to happen before the five “construction” days began. The project would have to be challenging, interesting and conceptually strong enough to entice others to choose one’s design, but also realistic - it had to be within a maximum budget of £800 plus VAT, and would require no more than 6 people to build it. As an aside, any timber used was not allowed to be treated - the project would encourage natural materials as much as possible. REQUIREMENTS Of a year group of 25 students, all were invited to submit an individual proposal which comprised a report and short ten-minute slide-show presentation, to convince others that theirs should be built. After all proposals were presented, a vote would be held selecting a small number of most popular projects, and further arrangements would be made by the designers (construction drawings, project phasing etc.) to arrange for its construction.

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

CONCEPT: THE CYCLISTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RESPITE

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

THE CYCLIST’S RESPITE/RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER (STORY): I approach the car park, veering off the main road, tired from a steady ride up the hill, anticipating another trek on foot up the north drive before reaching my destination – the Centre for Alternative Technology. These days I tend to cut through the car park and attempt to ride up south drive into the site to store my bike there. It ensures that I can get right to the entrance door, but that is not without the trade-off of excess energy, not to mention the detour. I am approaching the speed humps now, past the house with a makeshift veranda, the old 4x4 with a canoe strapped to its roof. I can see through the trees the funicular station and remark how, for many visitors, their CAT experience starts at the bottom of the hill. Living near CAT, working there and visiting regularly, I feel its presence all the time. For me there is no escape from its ubiquity, what it represents to me. I cycle for my own fitness and health, but also to do my part for the planet, to reducing my carbon footprint and inspiring others to do so too. It was only when I landed a job at CAT I was exposed to their culture and I have felt the place change me. I find no distinction between myself and this place, no discernible point at which my experience of it begins. I arrive on-site, after a peaceful cycle ride through the Dovey valley from the small village where I live, through the medieval market town of Machynlleth. I feel my heart pumping and blood rushing to the surface of my skin, my breath condensing in the dewy morning air. I

relish in the relief of having tackled the long ascent, reminding myself that I am going downhill on my way back. But everyday upon my arrival, I am not greeted with anything congratulatory, only a tired rusted looking bike shelter to the left, unloved and overused. Its generic form reminds me of those at school, and all the sordid associations that come with it. I don’t tend to lock my bike here as it won’t protect it. This

bike shelter, unfortunately, represents what my cycle trips seem to be worth to them. The clue is in the name – it shelters – yet the plastic cover has been vandalised and rotten leaves stain its surface, rain and wind batter through – it can’t even fulfil its definitive role. A bike has been left there for a month and it is beginning to resemble something of the shelter itself. Its handles and chains are rusted and a carrier bag tied over the seat to keep that, at least, dry. That shelter stands in contrast to the beautiful funicular station to its right, that which the visitors see. A sign perks up above its swept eaves, two half gables at either end spread the roof out over the walkway, making sure everyone underneath is sheltered. A ramp is integrated into its very design, welcoming access to anyone. A balustrade extends across, making the place feel safe, and there is a generous space to wait for one’s train to arrive, the theatre of such a situation, the anticipation of “going up”, a clear view of the descending carriage as it grinds to a halt and empties itself of water into the below reservoir, reminding visitors that this motion is accompanied with a concurrent “going down”. A box dormer peeks idly above the slate surface of the roof, generously glazed, rendering an otherwise dark internal environment without the need for electric lighting. An information sign to the front, a wooden plaque indicating time of the next trip up the hill. What would the bike shelter be if it was to reflect something of its neighbour’s spirit? I look over this time and I see the bike shelter has transformed. Its

form generates intrigue, beckoning one over, it asserts that my bike will be safe in its hands, it congratulates me on my journey, reminds me why I took my bike instead of my car, makes me feel special as a cyclist when I feel I do not belong on either road or pavement, and reminds me where I am. It distracts me from Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

the trek I still have to do up north drive by indicating that my

experience of the CAT site has already begun. Its presence is calm and reassuring, a kind of gateway. As I park my bike there I feel like it shelters me also, as I fumble for my keys and lock,

and crouch to secure it to the frame. The rain is now beating down heavily, as it does in these parts. I check my watch and realise that I have arrived early. By the past few days of hot sun I reckon that this is storm rain and will be finished in five minutes. My colleague said he would be arriving on his bike today but I do not see it on the rack, so he must be on his way. I notice that the shelter has a seat

for

respite. Perhaps I will take a seat here and wait for him. I sit down under the shelter and rest my weary legs, pull the panniers of my back wheel and dig around for my flask of coffee and my sandwiches, listening to the gentle thud of the rain on the wide roof, enjoying the view of birds as they jump from tree to tree at the perimeter of the car park, seeing early morning visitors leaping out their 4x4, running hurriedly through the rain towards the funicular entrance. I feel comfortable here as I know the rain will not reach me. This place feels safe, and like it was made just for me. The rain quickly dies down after a while and I hop out of the shelter to observe it more closely, rucksack slung over my shoulder. There is an access to the rear

of the structure

where I find a door into a private changing room. Ah! How convenient! As

there are no changing rooms provided in the centre. So, I use it – hooks provided for my coat, a clean floor to change my shoes and small mirror to check my appearance, a couple of LED lights overhead illuminating the space at night. By the time I have arrived out, transformed, my colleague has arrived, sitting in my seat! But there is room for two of us as I sit to grab the flask which I previously left there. We stop in silence for a moment looking out, enjoying the view, that kind of silent, collective, meditation that can set one up for the day, and exchanging pleasantries and small talk we continue up north drive to our office.

A FRAME WITHIN A FRAME “A bicycle without a rider is useless, an empty frame. Similar is the shelter without bikes. The shelter is animated by the presence of bikes and bikes are animated by people. The bicycle facilitates movement through space, and the bike shelter, in turn, facilitates bikes.” - Zen and the art of push-bike maintenance

A story extract, from the point of view of a fictional character at CAT, using text to explore “spirit of place” 6

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

SITE: EXISTING BIKE SHELTER

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

View

NORTH-EASTERN WIND

Approach to site

Option 1: Park bike and progress up north drive Option 2: Continue to walk with bike up north drive to site

June su Ju un u n path

S Septembe er-March sun path

SOU UTH-WESTERL LY PREVAILING WIND D

Option 3: Continue to cycle up south drive

Funicular station for visitors

Decembe e r sun path

Car park

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

PLANS OF SITE 8

Entrance approach - a view of both bike shelter and funicular through trees

2 4

6 1

IMAGES OF SITE Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

DESIGN RULES (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

ASPECT PIVOT RESPITE SHELTER AMBASSADOR

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

(1) ASPECT Frames a view of the site Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Bike shelter occupies a corner site. Creating a form that responds to the site boundaries maximizes usable space

WISE building uses the Sheppard theatre as a pivot, around which various functions are organized

Bike parking could serve as wings whilst the centre remains as the cyclistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s respite, along with a changing room

(2) PIVOT Two wings rotated around a centre Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

(3) RESPITE A shelter not only for the bike but for the cyclists, to recuperate, relax and even change Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

(4) SHELTER Fulfils the foremost function of keeping the bike secure and sheltering from the elements Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

(5) AMBASSADOR The bike shelter is to be an ambassador for the site that rivals the entrance to the funicular car. Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

INFLUENCES

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

(1) Gabled cruciform

(2) Reduce to minimum size to create square-planned module

(2) Stitch modules together to create wing

(Candela, 2008)

Hyperbolic paraboloid

Sketch investigations were made into how one could assert continuity with a certain rhythm. Explorations were made into subverting the â&#x20AC;&#x153;gableâ&#x20AC;&#x153;, as an echo to the traditional kind of construction found on the funicular station roof. Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

DOUBLE VAULT 17

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Awkward corner removed

Right angles: too acute, enclosing central space too much from view

Concertina style support affected by roof shape

Central part rotated - more favourable but creates dead space

Obtuse angle does not work with corner

Approaching final form

Bike supports provided as attached to back columns Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Establishing symmetry 19

MODELLING PROCESS

Roof added secured with ridge caps and flashing

The long time spent making the model indicated that the structure was too big, and during the computer modelling process the number of bays was reduced to three. Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

FINALISED MODEL 20

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

DRAWINGS

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

During the CAD drawing process, it was considered that the bays were large enough to access both sides, and thus fit twice as many bikes, thereby justifying reduction of bays from three to two on either wing.

Changing room

Bike rear access

Changing room Bike rear access

Respite area

PROPOSED SITE PLAN SCALE 1:50

(entmumbai, 2016) Arjun A Arj un Chopra, Cho opra p , Student No. u1630285, u16302 0285 02 85, 8 5 CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Changing Changing

Sitting

Storage for 9 bicycles

PROPOSED PERSPECTIVE PLAN Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

SECTION AA Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

SCALE 1:20

DETAIL VISUALISATION FROM FRONT Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

SKETCH VISUALISATION IN MODELSPACE AND IN CONTEXT Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

DETAIL

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Roof structure GABLE

Beams

Brackets Gangnail

GABLE

TYPICAL JUNCTION DETAIL (NTS) A birds-mouth style “notch” may be needed here to fit with the corner of the adjoining timber

VERTICAL CROSS SECTION OF CLUSTER COLUMN ILLUSTRATING FIXINGS (NTS)

Note that fixings are to be made perpendicular to the grain of the wood when possible to avoid splitting

CLUSTER COLUMN DETAIL SCALE 1:10 Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technolog Technology gy

(Sharif, 2013)

A most effective way of keeping the columns together would be a “collar”, held tightly within a notch in the column’s perimeter, manufactured in cold-bent steel and welded. This could have been secured to the top and bottom of the column in the manner of how one might secure a “faggot”, a bundle of twigs. This way the wood could be kept intact - minimising screws which weaken the wood and allow ingress of water. The bike rack could be welded onto this element. Steel wire wound around the cluster columns could function as a temporary alternative to collars before they are installed.

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

COSTING

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Foundation option 1: 300mm deep slate rubble-filled holes with paving slabs atop Foundation option 2: 300mm deep concrete footings with embedded steel flitch plate to receive columns above Foundation option 1 is illustrated here using 600 x 600 paving slabs

15 x Paving slabs ÂŁ5.37 each Total: ÂŁ80.55 (B&Q, 2017)

FOUNDATIONS PLACED Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Structure is to use 50 x 50 mm cross section timber throughout. In instances of complex geometry, timbers are to be “clustered” with triangular packers to control angle of face. Possibility exists to construct this from larger cross section timbers but this requires complex carpenters joints which I have attempted to avoid as much as possible. In the case of option 1 for footings which I have chosen to depict, the structure may be deemed heavy enough to not require anchoring onto slabs.

132 x Sawn timbers @ 47x50x2400mm (FSC approved, untreated) £5.48 each (B&Q, 2017) Total: £723.36

x4 x9

x5 x9

x4 x9

x9 x9

x4 x9

CLUSTERED COLUMNS Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Walls added to demarcate rear changing room areas - to be of stud wall construction (50x50mm timber) with 18mm external grade ply to be used as facing on both sides.

16 x Structural Softwood Plywood CE2+ (18x1220x2440mm) £27.39 each (Wickes, 2017) Total: £438.24

Extra column and 3 horizontal stud rails = (461x3) + 2100 = 3483 = 1.5 timbers appr. per panel=1.5x4=6 timbers=£32.88 3 Horizontal stud rails = (1114x3)=3342=1.5 timbers appr. per panel=1.5 x 2 = 3 timbers = £16.44 3 Horizontal stud rails = (1064x3)=3192= 1.5 timbers appr. per panel=1.5 x 2 = 3 timbers = £16.44 3 Horizontal stud rails = (656x3)=1968= 1 timbers appr. per panel=£5.48 3 Horizontal stud rails = (1442x3)=4326= 2 timbers appr. per panel=£10.96

2 461x 2100

461x 2100

1442x 2100

1064 x 2100

1114x 2100 2

1064 x 2100 2

656x 2100 2 1114x 2100 2

PARTITION WALLS Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Beams added overhead - note those with green marker are 2100mm long, of identical size to clustered columns, creating a square elevation to bays

2329 mm = 1 timber x 10 = 10 timbers 2100 mm = 1 timber x 8 = 8 timbers 1442 mm = 0.6 timber x 1 = 1 timber 919 mm = 0.5 timber x 2 = 1 timber 1114 mm = 0.5 timber x 2 = 1 timber 1140 mm = 0.5 timber x 2 = 1 timber 1463 mm = 0.7 timber x 1 = 1 timber 1848 mm = 1 timber x 2 = 2 timbers

25 x Sawn timbers @ 47x50x2400mm (FSC approved, untreated) ÂŁ5.48 each (B&Q, 2017) Total: ÂŁ137

2100 mm 2100 mm

PARTITION WALLS Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Doors added - standard hung doors to rear access changing rooms (862w x 2000 h) and smaller door (692w x 2000h) from single changing room into sitting area.

3 x external redwood doors and frames excluding door furniture ÂŁ49.99 each (Travis Perkins, 2017) Total: ÂŁ149.97

862mm width door and frame, door furniture to be salvaged on-site x 2 692 width door and frame, door furniture to be salvaged on-site x 1 Furniture to be crafted from materials salvaged on-site

BEAMS Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Rafters and gable structure affixed over beams

1670mm = 1 timber x 20 2437mm = 1 timber x 10 1105mm = 0.5 timber x 4 1176mm = 0.5 timber x 2 740mm = 0.5 timber x 1 1195mm = 0.5 timber x 1 1555mm = 1 timber x 1

39 x Sawn timbers @ 47x50x2400mm (FSC approved, untreated) ÂŁ5.48 each (B&Q, 2017) Total: ÂŁ213.72

RAFTERS AND GABLES Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Roofing cladding could be timber shingles, prefabricated straw thatched panels, or even recycled drinks cans. The faces would all be of identical shape, and the possibility exists to even start these before construction week has begun. For the sake of calculation, I have considered that the scheme is to be built with a timber shingle roof.

For sheathing: OSB2 Oriented Strand Sterling Board FSC 2.44m x 1.22m x 18mm = 3 sq m No sheets required = 47.1/3 = 15.7 (+ extra) = 17 panels Price per panel: £28.54 (Roofing Superstore, 2017) Total price: £485.18

For battens (FSC certified untreated spruce): 25 x 38 x 3600mm @ 400 centres, vertically arranged: 7 rows of battens per triangular face, equating to roughly 1.6 lengths of supplied timber, so 32 lengths in total

For counter-battens: 25 x 38 x 3600mm @ 150 centres Horizontally arranged 11 rows of battens per triangular face, equating to roughly 3.8 lengths of timber per face, so 76 lengths in total

Total quantity of battens = 117 Price: £3.02 each (Wickes, 2017) Total price: £353.34

Plus 6.5 lengths for both central faces

Wooden shingles: 120 pieces cover 2.28 sq m Price per bundle: £55.36 (Roofing Superstore, 2017) 21 bundles to be purchased to cover surface area Total price: £1162.56

Fixings: 2 no. 31mm x 1.8mm silicon bronze annular ring nails per shingle 1kg nails per bundle of shingles Appr. 4 kg required Price for a kg of nails: £21.36 (Roofing Superstore, 2017) Total price for fixings: £85.44

(2467 x 1649 mm)/2 x 20 units = 40.7 sq m 2900 x 1105 mm x 2 units = 6.4 sq m Total: 47.1 sq m

CLADDING Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

Option 1 (left): (Woods, n.d.) A slot chainsawn into the heart of the trunk to allow for the bike, with two ring screws on either side to accommodate the lock. Wood is most likely to be sourced from Benbow Bros. Limited, tree surgeons that serve the Midlands and north Wales area and specialise in removal of larger species. This solution would, however, blockade the thoroughfare warranted by the proposed scheme, currently such that one could access it from both sides.

OPTIONS FOR CYCLE STORAGE

Option 2 (right): Another possibility is to adapt and re-purpose the existing bike racks as they are independent of the structure, which would be free of charge.

Totals: Paving slabs: Cluster columns Ply for partitions Extra timber for partitions Timber for beams Doors Rafters and gables Roof sheathing Roof battens Wooden shingles Fixings for shingles

Total cost of build, disregarding all fixing used in structure other than that for shingles: £3911.56

FINAL Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

£80.55 £723.36 £438.24 £82.20 £137 £149.97 £213.72 £485.18 £353.34 £1162.56 £85.44

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

PROJECT PHASING

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

PRE-CONSTRUCTION: Create construction drawing set, laminate and issue to workers. Prepare timber elements by cutting to size. All specialist shapes with controlled angles for cluster columns require a jig and table saw. Cluster columns can begin to be assembled with pilot holes, plates and fixings. Gable elements can be mitre cut. Prepare brackets and Gangnail connectors required for assembly. Cut OSB roof sheathing to size using jigsaws. Cut ply to size using jigsaws. Source slate rubble to backfill holes for foundation. DAY 1: Establish post centres on-site and mark with paint. Dig foundations 300mm deep and fill with slate rubble, top with paving slabs and check to levels. Erect cluster columns one-by-one whilst attaching beams across and diagonally. DAY 2: Continue construction of frame Build stud partitions with horizontal rails and nail ply to either side DAY 3: Finish construction of frame and partition walls - begin roof structure. Pieces should be organised carefully like a “kit of parts“. DAY 4: Finish primary frame for roof. Attach battens and counter-battens. DAY 5: Lay timber shingles until completion. Use existing bike stands in new structure, nominally. POST-CONSTRUCTION: Installation of LED light-bulbs. Construct a floor decking for internal spaces. Double one changing room as compost toilet - direct water pipe to site for sanitaryware. Source a timber trunk from local tree surgeons, cut into blocks and coach-screw to existing structure - make cuts into trunks and install ring screws to be used as “natural bike stands”. Can enclose gables, or further enclose parts of the structure. Remove shingled panels to be used elsewhere on-site, and source waterproof canvas as cladding for part of the structure instead.

PHASING AND ACTIVITIES FOR PROJECT Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

A VISION

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

The most effective way to shelter the roof, as an alternative to flat planes, is to use a tensile stressed cover. If this is to be used, PVC will be avoided due to its embodied energy and environmental damage. Alternatives could be waterproofed jute fabric, or hemp/cotton canvas. This may be a technically demanding exercise, whereby a larger form would be cut and stitched, gromits attached to corners to attach to tension cables, which would also need anchoring in a manner that is safe and permanent. But this may serve as a further development or reincarnation of the design later on in its life.

A TENSILE ROOF COVER Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

CRITIQUE

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

CONCLUSION

COSTING The costing process revealed the project to be incredibly expensive, amounting to a total of nearly £4,000, far surpassing the budget of £800. This is disregarding labour costs, as we were all building on a voluntary basis, tools required (such as table saws) assuming that CAT would have such overheads, metal fixings and frames. No doubt, extra supplies would have contributed another £4-500 according to projections. Almost none of the materials used to build would have been sourced on-site. More care could have been taken to source from local producers. A useful exercise would have been to attempt calculating embodied energy of proposed scheme, against expected lifespan and use, as a justification behind cost. If fellow students had done this also, it would have proved a useful quantifier for comparison.

Overall, this project was an opportunity to explore a singular idea in more detail. In a short space of time we were pushed to realise a design quickly, the “what” process, then engage with the “how”: firstly, how can this design be communicated effectively, engagingly and convincingly? And secondly, how is it to be built? CONCEPT As a concept or typology, a cyclist’s respite has clout. Countless precedents for experimental bike shelters can be found throughout the world, but all engage with it in a formal, structural, or aesthetic dimension. This has possibly come about from the perspective of an engineer or product designer. The idea of making “place” of the bike shelter, transforming it into somewhere for people to stop and dwell, engage in conversation, a unique place that is just for cyclists, who generally feel that they aren’t accepted within our infrastructure (either go on the road where you are holding up traffic, or the pavement where you are a danger to pedestrians) is a uniquely architectural one.

MUSING Philosophically speaking, the bicycle is a frame for movement, like the frame of a futurist painting. The bike shelter, as architecturally manifest, is a frame for activity and socialisation, and a frame for moments and vistas. But functionally, it is a frame for bikes, a frame for frames. Innately this logic has manifest in my design - during the model-making process I tended to favour the skeletal, triangular forms that one associates with a bike.

It would have been hugely beneficial if the social space doubled as a small maintenance workshop, complete with a rack to mount a bike, decent lighting and an array of tools. One could imagine a wall with an array of hooks, tools and cycling supplies (spare tubes etc.) which would have been another source of visual interest inside the respite area. It could have allowed for a new culture of place to emerge, maybe the site of a weekly “bicycle surgery”, popularised by the likes of “SusTrans”.

A person riding a bicycle is an example of human and machine in a state of synergy, harmony, the bicycle a tool by which one can get to their destination faster with smaller expenditure of energy (60% of work done is converted into forward motion, which by standards is highly efficient, considering that only 30% of energy produced by a coal plant is finally used as electricity). The person and bike become one, extensions of each-other . could such physiognomy play out in the form of a bike shelter? The Shelter becoming one with the bike?

STRUCTURE The entire primary frame of the structure was to be built from 50x50mm cross section timber. The concept of clustering them into columns was to achieve a necessary cross sectional form that could accommodate a regular and “concertina” style grid format at once. Geometrically, this worked, but this amounted to a very thick column, that with some further CAD work could have been reduced down. It seems that what I was attempting something like a “space-frame” construction, which typically employs polyhedral geometry using lightweight steel in compression and tension, with three-dimensional connections. Despite trying to simplify as much as possible, the level of engineering required in the joinery would have been outside the scope of expertise for amateur students, let alone for us to achieve completion within a working week. Also, considering the type of wood we would be receiving to build with if sourcing from the local timber merchant, green and unregularised, and that health-and-safety would not allow untrained personnel near jig/circular saws, cutting and managing the wood into these forms would have proved an enormous challenge. Though the entire primary frame of the structure was intended to be constructed from 50 x 50 timbers, the roof may have needed to be thicker, to either resist the weight of ply-board, battens and timber shingles above or, in the case of a canvas membrane being used, the downward force of the fabric under tension. There also may have been the added issue of lift due to wind. 2.1 metres is arguably a long span for timbers, and the beams were not resting on the columns, merely bracketed to them, so the bracketing would have been transferring undue load. Using timber span tables and a careful observation of similar construction precedents would have rectified this matter. As an advantage, the fact that roof pitches were maintained at 45 degree angles would have been useful for ease of cutting, a regulating its geometry. Consideration was not given to how water would be collected off the roof - a continuous gutter may have served around the structure and transferred to a water butt which could have been pumped for hand-washing. It is possible that a part of the structure could have been built and added to later, giving the modularity of its construction. If the respite and changing rooms were built, with just one bay on either side, it still would have housed up to 8 bikes, and costs may have been half that projected for the full project. It has been noted also that, while the cluster columns may be sturdy enough, and the “fold” in the structure’s grid allows it a certain stability, there is overall little resistance to racking forces, for which bracing would need to be considered. The most aesthetic in this case would be steel cables, which could connect collars binding the cluster columns together. However, it would also render that side of the structure inaccessible, so care would be taken in making them visible as possible. Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

RE-IMAGINING THE BIKE SHELTER

REFERENCES

Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology

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Arjun Chopra, Student No. u1630285, CE7700 Report, Professional Diploma in Architecture AEES, Centre for Alternative Technology