Nowadays bicycles are not only used for sports or as a recreational activity, as more and more people are choosing bicycles as their main means of transportation. Architecture plays a fundamental role in promoting the use of bicycles, as a properly equipped city with safe bicycle lanes, plentiful bicycle parking spots, and open areas to ride freely will encourage people to use their cars much less.
Cities are now positioning themselves as a key promoter of sustainable mobility, and Denmark and the Netherlands are currently the leading countries in the field of architecture for bikes. They are considered a cyclist's paradise because of their excellent infrastructure and architecture, making them a worldwide reference.
To celebrate World Bicycle Day, discover below a list of projects by BIG, NL Architects, Monk Mackenzie Architects, and Landlab, among others, that serve as inspiration for the development of contemporary cities, in ways that integrate bicycles through a diversity of means such as parks and public spaces, pavilions and cultural centers, bridges and parking lots and, of course, bicycle paths.
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Vanke Community A1-B2 and Bus Station / UV Architecture /Huayi Design
LightPathAKL / Monk Mackenzie Architects + Landlab
Cycling through the Trees / Burolandschap
Superkilen / Topotek 1 + BIG Architects + Superflex
Karen Blixens Plads Public Square / Cobe
Bridges
Melkwegbridge, Purmerend, NL / NEXT architects
Twisted Valley / Grupo Aranea
Lex van Delden Bridge / Dok Architecten
Hovenring, Circular Cycle Bridge / ipv Delft
Peace Bridge / Santiago Calatrava
Bicycle Pavilions
Denmark Pavilion, Shanghai Expo 2010 / BIG
Bicycle Club / NL Architects
Electra BikeHub / Andrey Ukolov + Ekaterina Osipova
Bicycle Parking
Bicycle Hotel Lillestrøm / Various Architects
Cuyperspassage / Benthem Crouwel Architects
Bicycle Parking Main Station Karlsruhe / TAFKAL
Bicycle Parking / Ector Hoogstad Architecten
Strawinskylaan Bicycle Parking / wUrck
The South Entrance / Tengbom
Bicycle Stores
VOYAGE 798 Coffee House / atelier suasua
VÈLO7 Cycle Shop / mode-lina architekci
Distrito Fijo Cycling Club / DCPP arquitectos
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on February 24, 2017, and updated on June 03, 2020.