The Bicycle Rack Reimagined

At Philadelphia’s City Hall, ten creative bicycle racks are on display as part of a larger exhibition of bicycle-related art. The ten racks were chosen from among more than 150 submitted as part of a design competition sponsored by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia in conjunction with the Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy (OACCE).

"The goal of the competition was to improve our streetscapes by adding public art that doubles as functional bicycle racks," says Nicholas Mirra, a spokesman for the bicycle coalition. "Philadelphia is a bicycling city, with the highest rate of bicycle commuting among the ten biggest U.S. cities. Especially in Center City, there is not enough bike parking to meet the demand. In parallel with that, Philadelphia is a great city for art. … Reimagining the ordinary, utilitarian bicycle rack as a work of sculpture that reflects or comments on its surroundings was an endeavor that appealed both to OACCE and ourselves."

The racks will be installed on sidewalks in and around Center City this summer, Mirra says. The competition was funded by a matching grant from the Knight Foundation as part of its Knight Arts Challenge.

Click through the slideshow to see more of the winning submissions.