Osterwold°Schmidt EXP!ANDER Architekten

Description

A station for bicycles was constructed next to the Erfurt ICE train station. This second station to the north – conceived as a counterpart to the south bicycle parking area – fills the demand for secure, weather-protected bicycle storage and simultaneously stems the rising tide of hordes of cycles being locked up anywhere to anything. The immediate vicinity to the train station is important for functionality and user acceptance, because the benefits of cycling as a means of transportation lie in individual mobility and quick access to the destination. As location, an unused corner of a public greenspace was found that filled not function, left over as a triangle between a footpath, stairway and the ramp of an emergency exit from the train station. Such »residual« areas are usually inconspicuous and non-disruptive and are often prettied up a bit with flower beds, but are utterly underestimated when it comes to their potential for meeting functional urban needs such as bicycle stations. This plot was already accessible from all sides and can effectively accommodate by means of vertical storage 200 bicycles, mostly stacked in double racks for rapid access from all sides. A core area also offers extra-secure storage and will provide charging docks for e-bikes. The sleek steel structure clad in expanded metal has an expressive form that lends what is really just a »bike shed« a fitting motif of dynamics and movement, enriching Erfurt with another piece of urban furniture.