European Velo Sheds: Accordion
Modular Rest Stops for Bicycles, 1st Prize
Roles: Product Design | Architecture
Fall 2018
Project: Bee Breeders International Architecture Competition (1st Prize)
Time: 4 Months
Status: Ideas Competition | Independent Work
Collaborator: Ivory Wang
Further Reading: Bee Breeders
Accordion rest stops merge the mechanical elegance of bicycles with the rustic pleasures of a primitive hut. A series of rigid glulam wood frames combine to create a shelter, which can scale up from a simple seating area to a full cabin, depending on location and budget. Considering the bike trail as a site, the Accordion rest stops are situated parallel to the road and the river, creating an inhabitable threshold between the river and trail. Inside, a full cabin contains a kitchen counter, a shower & toilet module, and flanking bunk beds. Like Gottfried Semper’s primitive hut, a hearth, in the form of a stove pipe fireplace, anchors the heart of the velo shed.
Skills
Design Thinking
Product Design
Architecture
Technology
Rhino 3D
V-Ray
Illustrator
Photoshop
Concept
Evoking Nature
Biking evokes a romantic notion of travel, of scaling hills and mountains and traversing great distances on your own pace. Along the route of the EuroVelo 6, cycling pilgrims journey through the heart of Europe, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea. Tracing the edges of rivers, this water route offers panoramic vistas of mountains, lakes, and valleys. More recently, the rising popularity of Velo tourism reveals a growing public interest in nature, of escaping into the countryside without automobiles, disconnected from the grid. How can rest stops compliment these unspoiled landscapes, while mediating between nature and machine?.
Strategy
Adaptable Frames
A series of rigid glulam wood frames combine to create a shelter, which can scale up from a simple seating area to a full cabin, depending on location and budget. Considering the bike trail as a site, the Accordion rest stops are situated parallel to the road and the river, creating an inhabitable threshold between the river and trail. Inside, a full cabin contains a kitchen counter, a shower & toilet module, and flanking bunk beds. Like Gottfried Semper’s primitive hut, a hearth, in the form of a stove pipe fireplace, anchors the heart of the shed.
Design
Sectional Play
A series of rigid glulam wood frames combine to create a shelter, which can scale up from a simple seating area to a full cabin, depending on location and budget. Considering the bike trail as a site, the Accordion rest stops are situated parallel to the road and the river, creating an inhabitable threshold between the river and trail. Inside, a full cabin contains a kitchen counter, a shower & toilet module, and flanking bunk beds. Like Gottfried Semper’s primitive hut, a hearth, in the form of a stove pipe fireplace, anchors the heart of the shed.
Implementation
Functional Respite
The full velo shed has two elevations: an introverted face along the bicycle path, with small circular apertures providing privacy for the overnight guests; and an extroverted, arcade-like facade facing the river, with swinging doors that open out towards nature. The bookends consists of large-format polycarbonate panels, which reveals a distinctive silhouette in the landscape. Inside, a full cabin contains a kitchen counter, a shower & toilet module, and flanking bunk beds. Like Gottfried Semper’s primitive hut, a hearth, in the form of a stove pipe fireplace, anchors the heart of the velo shed.
