The By-Cycle
Submission to the 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative Copenhagen design competition
Artist Team: Kenneth Ip, Joey Yim
Artist Location: Hong Kong
Energy Technologies: wind microturbines from repurposed bicycle rims
A well-known and widely discussed feature of Copenhagen’s sustainable development is its bicycle infrastructure. Over one third of people living in Copenhagen commute to work or school by bicycle, and bicycle ownership in the city is upwards of 90%.
Bicycles produce no pollutants when they are being peddled around the city, but what becomes of the bicycle when it has passed its usable lifespan? And what becomes of the abandoned bicycles that amount to approximately 13,000 each year?
What if old and abandoned bicycles were reintroduced back into the sustainable ecosystem of Copenhagen? Although they may no longer be suitable to be used on the road again, their basic framework and structure allows them to be recycled for another purpose. Instead of disposing of them as waste, these bicycles could be transformed into a meaningful part of Copenhagen’s ambitious plan to be carbon neutral by 2025.
THE BY-CYCLE transforms old bicycles into a wind farm, harnessing the natural resources of the city while making use of what would otherwise be wasted resources. The bicycle is deconstructed into its basic elements—its frame and its rims—and the individual parts are reassembled into a tree-like structure. Each rim is then fitted with polycarbonate fins to catch the wind, thus allowing the disused bicycle to be readapted as a windmill. Waste becomes useful again.
