Blueprint has teamed up with the British wood industry body TRADA to launch the VeloCity student competition with a £5000 prize pot.
The brief is to use British wood to create a building that would act as a cycling hub in the heart of steel country, Sheffield. The project involves creating a main ‘park and cycle superhub and smaller satellite hubs’.
Hooke Park Big Shed (2012) by Safwat + Williams Photo credit: Valerie Bennett
Velocity has in part been prompted by the Government’s All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group’s report last year that set out a vision to realise the potential of cycling for healthier communities and the need to look at ‘redesigning our roads, streets and cities’.
A key aim of this competition brief is to serve, enhance and grow the cycling community in Sheffield as part of its sustainable transport system. Fittingly, the city will also be hosting the finishing of the UK stages of the Tour de France in July.
Brockholes Wetlands Nature Reserve (2011) by Adam Khan Architects Photo credit: Ioana Marinescu
Your VeloCity design will have to accommodate the needs of:
- Daily commuters who would otherwise take cars into the city centre
- Weekend users of the Trans-Pennine way and other local scenic cycle routes
- Users of the Parkwood Springs mountain-bike trail
- Hire cycles for occasional users
- Other local community groups
Emanuel College Library, Cambridge (2011) by Kilburn Nightingale Architects
VeloCity should:
- Provide secure over-night cycle storage/parking for up to 1000 bikes — to include space for recumbent bikes, tandems and tricycles
- Provide ancillary facilities
– a cycle retail/workshop space
– changing facilities for cyclists and community groups (eg users of football fields)
– multi-use community space for events, training etc
– cafe space
- Provide smaller, secure, cycle storage hubs for up to 50 cycles to be located strategically around the city centre to serve as satellite hubs and a link to the landmark building you have created overlooking the city And.
- Explore cycle storage and consider developing innovative methods and/or systems to store large numbers of cycles in your building(s)
- Ensure that smooth, easy routes around the building(s) for cycles are included
The building must be designed using British timber species and related wood products, and you can find out a lot more about that on the TRADA website. You’ll also find a plethora of information and advice there on designing with timber.
So the call is out for entries, to create ‘a new landmark building for Sheffield’ – and the deadline for entries is 6 June, 2014.
A shortlist will be created by a panel of judges including Blueprint editor, Johnny Tucker, designer Wayne Hemmingway, Julian Huppert MP and co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, and representatives from TRADA, Buro Happold, BAM Construct UK and national cycling charity CTC. The final judging will take place in July with an award ceremony in September. . For more details and to download the full competition brief go to trada.co.uk/academic/designcompetitions
