TimeOut New York

Time Out New York published a flattering article on the city racks competition. The article made the following statement.

You can read the full article by clicking the following link.

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/

"In a joint competition hosted by the Department of Transportation and Cooper-Hewitt (and, okay, a little help from Google), ten finalists for the new design were unveiled today. They range from the bland-but-functional (we won’t name names) to something you’d see in MoMA (naming names now: Francis Anthony Bitonti). "

City Racks Exhibition

The City Racks exhibition has opened at the Cooper Hewitt in Manhattan. The design will be on display in the garden of the Cooper Hewitt for the next few weeks. These are some photos from the opening reception. The Prototype was designed by Francis A. Bitonti (http://www.FADarch.com/).

CityRacks prototype installed today!

The small version of the cityRacks bike rack prototype was installed in New York City today. The Prototype was designed by Francis A. Bitonti (http://www.FADarch.com/).

Paint

Fabrication is nearing completion for the cityRacks prototype. The parts have been built by http://www.redeyerpm.com/ The following photographs were taken at the Auto Body Specialties shop in Patchogue, NY where the prototype was finished and painted.

NKS Midwest Conference 2008

Francis A. Bitonti will be speaking at the 2008 NKS Midwest Conference. His Lecture will be titled "Unnatural Selection."

http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~dgerman/2008midwestNKSconference/

Fabrication

CityRacks Design Competition Finalist

Francis A. Bitonti has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the CityRacks Design Competition. FADarch has begun the production of two full scale prototypes that will be exhibited at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum in Manhattan. The prototypes will then be installed on the streets of New York City for testing.



cityracks from frankb on Vimeo.


Fabrication is underway for the cityRacks prototype. The parts are currently being built by http://www.redeyerpm.com/ The above photographs were taken at their facility.

CityRack

Hyper-Singular Rack:

The Traditional bike rack produces a linear or deterministic interface between the user and the object. The user always encounters the object in the same way and within the same context. The Hyper-Singular Rack on the other hand is non-deterministic. The users’ method of interface constantly needs to be re-evaluated as both orientation to the object and the context of that object is in a constant state of flux. This transforms our interaction with the object into an evolving pallet of interface. Dissolving our dependence on the singular and iconographic form; this forces the way we interface with the object to function more as a system. Our experience is dependent on the patterning of the objects most fundamental components. The structure of the object and its base components supersede the importance of the object itself.

The bike rack is composed of two prefabricated modules that can be combined with each other in a variety of ways. This affords a large amount of variability in the design, allowing the design to manifest itself differently throughout the city. The design utilizes three axis CNC milling technology and structural fiberglass to realize an affordable design that is 100% maintenance free.