Bike rack design competition extended to Sept. 30

Back in June we told you about the design competition for sculptural bike racks to be installed on plazas and sidewalks around Center City. The original submission deadline was September 4, but that has been extended until September 30.

Margot Berg, the city’s public art director, said that the deadline was extended in order to give people more time, particularly because the maximum dimension requirements were revised, in the hope of getting a larger number of responses.

So far about 40 submissions have been received and many more inquiries made.

Rack designs are for two sizes of bike rack – one appropriate for sidewalk use and another more for plazas – and should not be site-specific but speak in some way to Philadelphia. 

The project received a $50,000 Knight Arts Challenge matching grant and is a partnership between the city and Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia to help answer the city’s demand for bike parking as well as add an artful flourish to our streets. 

Property owners interested in installing the new racks will provide matching-funds. Berg confirmed that since the RFP was released more property owners have expressed interest in participation.

Here’s the updated RFP for all of you designers out there:

View Artist-Designed_Bike_Rack_RFP_reposted PDF