Portland Bikes is a proposal for a new building near downtown Portland that caters to a variety of bicycling communities, including small-time local manufacturers, existing and potential bicycle enthusiasts, and visitors interested in learning about Portland’s bicycle culture and industry.

For my terminal project, I wanted to create a production facility that would help to decrease the costs of high quality local artisanship while increasing the consumer’s willingness to pay more for a locally and ethically made product. The choice of product was secondary to this manifesto, but ended up being extremely important to both the program and the design.

The cooperative bicycle factory shares a building with bicycle community spaces, including an indoor velodrome and classrooms. These are linked by a factory museum, designed to foster knowledge of and respect for the local bicycle builders among the public as well as direct contact with the builders.

The roof structure of the velodrome was inspired by the efficient and beautiful structure of a bicycle wheel. The roof has a clear span of over 100 feet to allow for uninterrupted views of the course. This is accomplished with glulam and steel cable trusses and a latticed wooden shell.