Share this on

Design a New Bike Rack for NYC

Winning designs will be honored during the Cooper-Hewitt's third annual National Design Week.

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 3/18/2008 12:00:00 AM

The New York bicycle rack is geared for a major overhaul. To facilitate the process and encourage green transportation, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum are seeking bike rack designs.

Open to the international design community--including architects, artists, engineers, landscape architects, planners, urban designers, product and industrial designers, and manufacturers--the CityRacks competition is supported by Google and transportation consultancy Transportation Alternatives, and conceived to tackle both design and function. The contest features two categories: the Sidewalk Rack category and the In-Building Parking category. Registration is due April 30. The grand prize-winner in both categories will receive $5,000.

The Sidewalk Rack, a durable structure that should allow for mass production, will be considered for the new city standard. At least 500 racks are scheduled for the New York streetscape per year, indefinitely, according to the DOT.

The winning design in the In-Building Parking category will be considered for Google's New York headquarters.

"As we seek to promote cycling as a mainstream transportation option it is imperative that we provide convenient and secure bike parking," says DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. "Working with Cooper-Hewitt, Google, and Transportation Alternatives, we hope this competition develops a new generation of on-street bicycle parking that will be more visually noticeable, artistically designed, and unique to New York City."

The winning designs will be unveiled during the Cooper-Hewitt's third annual National Design Week, October 19–25.

Visit CityRacks for complete contest details.