The Chainlink

Name That Bike Rack: Part 11 - Beyond Chicago Edition

Today's mystery bike rack comes to us from abroad - yes, beyond Chicagoland.  I took this photo on a trip not long ago.  Can you name the city in which it's located, or better yet, the neighborhood or district?  It's a big area.

The creators of this rack were awarded thousands of dollars for their unique design.  For identifying it correctly you win an entire box of Clif Bars!  (Thank you, Clif Bar.)   

This functional piece of public art has an interesting backstory which we'll post once the answer has been revealed.  For those keeping up, here are bike racks 1 through 10. 

 

And remember kids: if you like your bike, somebody else will too.  Lock smartly. 

Happy Friday! 

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Permalink Reply by Andrew on June 1, 2012 at 10:28am

DUMBO Improvement District, Brooklyn, NYC, designed by Ian Mahaffy and Maarten De Greve from Bettlelab in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on June 1, 2012 at 3:24pm

You beat me to it. 

I wouldn't have known the location of this specific installation, though. Kudos!

Andrew N said:

DUMBO Improvement District, Brooklyn, NYC, designed by Ian Mahaffy and Maarten De Greve from Bettlelab in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Permalink Reply by Andrew on June 1, 2012 at 3:47pm

Thanks, Steven; it was a (somewhat) educated guess, but definitely a guess---I could very easily be wrong!

Steven Vance said:

You beat me to it. 

I wouldn't have known the location of this specific installation, though. Kudos!

Permalink Reply by Elwood Gruschow on June 1, 2012 at 8:13pm

Congratulations Andrew, looks like you nailed it.  

I looked up DUMBO it is Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.  I also found this photo of one of these racks in use with a Mongoose carcass.  Image credit to http://brokelyn.com/where-to-park-a-bike-in-midtown/ 

 

Permalink Reply by Melissa on June 22, 2012 at 7:03pm

And now, after much anticipation...Andrew N., you win!  Your delicious box of Clif Bars eagerly await their opportunity to fuel your many happy bike rides.  Message Julie to collect your trappings. 

As for the bike racks, these theta-shaped stands are growing in Brooklyn, New York.  The ones in this photo happen to sit on 5th Avenue in Park Slope, just a breezy 2-mile ride south of DUMBO.  Here is a full article on the "Hoop" rack.

The creators of the Hoop rack won a design contest three years ago.  When I spied the bar-bisected-circle plugged into the ground, it reminded me of the Greek letter theta, as well as a thoughtful tidbit once shared with me by an art teacher. 

In 1969, the theta (shaped like, well, that rack) came to be used as a symbol for the environmental movement that was emerging in North America and across the world.  This era gave rise to the beginning of a wide-spread realization that the planet's air, land and water were reaching critical levels of contamination and impending human-caused destruction.  

Theta is the first letter in the Greek word thanatos, meaning death or demise, as in, what will surely befall us all unless we take drastic measures, fast.  The letter was splashed across flags, buttons, and other random things that you can see in a related websearch.  In this way, the pleasant, symmetrical, planet-shaped theta became a raging scream for help. 

The theta symbol is also credited for resembling the lower-case letters e and o super-imposed.  With e standing for ecology and o for organism, combined they project the message that us humans are just an o in the e.  We are one fragile organism among the millions set to cooperate in a vast ecological system.  

 

These ideas combined weigh the theta with an urgent call to protect natural resources and take environmental action. 

I don't know if the bike rack designers set out to invoke the theta and all of its associations.  It's entirely possible that the shape of the rack was conceived for it's functionality, easy reproduction, and simple aesthetic.  (Not to mention the cool shadow that it casts, as seen above.)  

But in either case, I find the theta rack to be a subtle and beautiful little reminder of our individual responsibility to better our world.  We know that the number-two way that each of us, personally, can wreak less havoc on the environment is through sound transportation choices.  (With the number-one way being fewer hamburgers.)  Biking regularly in place of driving is an undeniable part of the less raw materials/gas/carbon equation.  So here, bolted all over a city, are thousands of little opportunities to lock-up and live better. 

 

Permalink Reply by Andrew on June 25, 2012 at 11:05am

I hadn't "seen" the theta, but I would definitely like to think it was an intended part of the design; nice spot, Melissa.  I sent Julie a message.

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