BikeHive by Workshop XZ - Timber in the City competition entry

By Bustler Editors|

Thursday, Oct 24, 2013

BikeHive by Zijie Cao and Xin Wu of Workshop XZ - Timber in the City competition entry. Image courtesy of Workshop XZ

"BikeHive" by Zijie Cao & Xin Wu of Workshop XZ gives a fun twist to the beehive concept. The proposal was one of over 1,000 entries that submitted to the Timber in the City: Urban Habitats competition where participants had to design a midrise, mixed-use complex that uses innovative wood construction and addresses the housing needs of the Red Hook waterfront neighborhood in Brooklyn.

In related news, the opening reception of the Timber in the City exhibition at Parsons The New School of Design in New York City will be today, Oct. 24 from 6-8 p.m.

"BikeHive" didn't place in the competition, but we think their proposal is definitely worth looking into. Check it out right below.

Project description:

"Design Concept

As a neighborhood of 400 years history, people are now bringing new life in the Red Hook. During our several visits to the site, we see a lot of potentials in this area. Ikea is one of the major destinations that bring people here, while the water front park is a great attraction to many bikers. The community farm as a trendy concept of living healthy also promotes the spiritual value of the site (we saw two couples come to visit the then closed farm about its future use). And also the recreation center is teemed with people on the weekends. These are great signs of that the neighborhood becomes very popular."

"However, what we see is missing is that these destinations are bringing people in but not keeping them. What we need is a space that becomes the nexus of all these programs where people can WORK, LIVE and PLAY. Having seen so many people use bicycle as their approach to the site, we decided to use bicycle as our approach to our design: Work On the Wheel, Live On the Wheel and also Play on the Wheel."

Exploded structure diagram. Image courtesy of Workshop XZ.

"The three major programs -- wood shop, bike shop and residential mid-rise, are all accessed and connected with bicycle ramps while the the central ground is an undulating double level public gathering space where many bike sports can be played, such as BMX biking. The covered ground level can also accommodate the Red Hook Community Farm as their farmer's market space. The innovated design of the streamline bike rack-bench is encouraging people to ride their bikes to buy or sell in the farmer's market."

Circulation diagram. Image courtesy of Workshop XZ.

Structure diagram. Image courtesy of Workshop XZ.

Section 1. Image courtesy of Workshop XZ.

Section 2. Image courtesy of Workshop XZ.

Structure Analysis

"First of all, instead of building one flat building across the site, we divided into two towers for better orientation and views. The structure is CLT construction: wood floor slab and wood wall panels stack on top of each other. It is strong yet very easy and fast to build because of the hexagon module.

We address the material/structure issue in the design of the architectural form. After the deliberate research on the timber material, we decided to use HONEYCOMB pattern through out the design. The honey comb structure is of high strength in the vertical direction and also can resist very strong lateral sheer force, which is the vital in the timber structure.

For the wood shop, bike shop and the grand cover, we also follows the hexagon honey comb pattern. The glu-lam beam and column runs the triangular grid that the honey comb created, which is the most steady form. Thus it has the most strength and lateral resistance in a very efficient way."