Students bring art to utility

Art. We see it in museums as sculptures or paintings, on stage as theater or music, in books as writings or photography and on campus as architecture or in bike racks.

Yes, now even some bike racks, or should we call them “art racks”, will be more aesthetically pleasing and more functional than the current black-bar form at the University.

Engineering and art students worked together to create the new bike racks as part of a Creative Campus initiative. The goal was to get the two types of students to collaborate on a creative endeavor.

“Ideas and creativity are not limited to art," engineering professor Srinath Viswanathan said. "That’s what's great about working in teams with both engineering and art students."

Creative Campus intern Carrie Wyers got the idea for the new racks after she attended the Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit in Philadelphia. Art students provided conceptual designs for the racks, which engineering students built.

Viswanathan said that he hopes this project is only the beginning of bike rack improvements on campus.

“I would like to see a different design in front of each building that represents that building," he said. "We try to show what’s possible. Lots of ideas were not taken to completion because of time limits.”

The bike racks were unveiled May 4, 2007, during the grand opening of Creative Campus's new digs in Maxwell Hall.

Written by Creative Campus intern Jessica Garcia; originally published in Missing Ink.