The Bike Rack as Art design competition gave Australian artists and designers the opportunity to do just that. Devised as part of the NSW BikePlan, the national competition was launched by the Powerhouse Museum and the Roads and Traffic Authority during the 2010 Sydney Design Festival. The winning rack will be installed in Parramatta, Penrith and Liverpool.
An important step towards meeting public demand for better cycling conditions, the competition attracted an array of beautifully articulated sculptures, addressing the functional and sustainable needs of a bike rack. On the judging panel were Diana Lorentz, design manager, Powerhouse Museum; Matt Faber, sustainable transport manager, RTA; Myfanwy Lawrance, transport planning project officer, Parramatta City Council; Richard Goodwin, designer/architect; and Greg Chalberg, marketing manager, Shimano Australia.
The winning entry was unveiled at Parramatta War Memorial Swimming Centre by the Minister for Roads, David Borger, in February. It was designed by the Melbourne-based studio JonesChijoff, formed in 2006 by industrial designers Carl Jones and Michael Chijoff.
‘As a long-time urban cyclist, I found instant appeal with the Dérailled design by JonesChijoff. It’s an elegant solution to the Bike Racks as Art design competition, both eye-catching and purposeful,’ says judge Greg Chalberg. The robust and visually striking sculpture is a successful marriage between great styling and well-conceived manufacturing techniques. Derailleur is a French word, borrowed by English speakers, for a bicycle gear mechanism that switches the chain from one sprocket to another.
Rowen Wagner was awarded second place for Geo Rack, a versatile rack with clear manufacturing potential. Damien Butler’s AM/PM was awarded third prize.
And the popular pick’ The people’s choice winner, as voted on our website, was Chris Smith and Toby McInnes’s playful forest of racks titled Quale (which was also highly commended by the judges).
This article was first published in Powerline (Autumn 2011), the magazine for members of the Powerhouse Museum.