Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo

Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi

GLOWING BICYCLE STATION IN BERGAMO

Studio Capitanio Architetti

GRAPHIC DESIGN CONSULTANT
PUBLIFARM

COLLABORATORS
Martina Brambati, Elif Parmaksiz

ENGINNERING
Myallonnier ingegneria srl

TECHNICAL PLANNERS
MCZ ingegneria srl

ARCHITECT
Remo Capitanio

TEXT AUTHOR
Giovanna Bosis

CLIENT
Comune di Bergamo

AREA
150 m²

YEAR
2022

LOCATION
Bergamo, Italy

CATEGORY
Transportation, Public Architecture

Text description provided by architect.

The first bicycle station in Bergamo is set in a strategic and highly relevant location on the edge of the historic center and close to the train station.

Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi

The facility was designed by Studio Capitanio to carry out the green policies on cycling enablement as an integral part of the intermodal connection hub and the future urban regeneration of Porta Sud train station.

The low-tech infrastructure, completely reversible, where transparency becomes an expression of safety and accessibility, stands on the east side of Piazzale Marconi, recently requalified in a major upgrade by Portuguese architect Ines Lobo.

Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi

The objective of the project was to insert a new element, integrated into the contemporary development of the square, providing a center of interchange between modes of transport: public transport, cycling, and walking.

The new service for citizens and tourists, catering for 132 bicycles, was dry laid on only 200 sqm of an already developed area.

Bi-city is the name of the latest element of soft mobility offered by Bergamo City Council, which sees the first bicycle station being built with financial support from the Ministry for Environmental Transition.

Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi

The compact design of the construction develops through a fabricated metal structure.

The glass perimeter façades run without interruption, breaking only at the intersection at the front entrance of the building.

The main distinctive feature of the elevations is the absence of containment frames for the glass surfaces, where single-point fixings are used instead.

Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi

The transparent shell offers a diffused natural light to the station, which, at night, takes on a centralizing role, lightening up quite like a lantern.

Photovoltaic panels located on the roofing supply the small amount of energy needed for the facility, thus making it fully energy self-sufficient.

The construction is conceived as circular and reversible architecture. All the materials employed are reusable or recyclable, and the whole structure can be easily disassembled and reconstructed elsewhere.

Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi

The steel frame is varnished white. The same single color is used for the facility's branding serigraphs by Publifarm, thus not only facilitating effective communication but also matching the monochromatic approach in the unit.

This is how a strong sense of identity can coexist with lightness in the construction. Particular attention was paid to the management of the bicycle station. The service to cyclists is fully automated using access badges and hydraulic lifting systems to avail of the two levels of bicycle racks.

Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi

"The challenge for our studio", comments Remo Capitanio, "was to work with subtlety in a sensitive area of the city. We interpreted the themes of soft mobility to create not only an easily accessible service but also an emotional space that brightens the square and its users at the end of the day.”


Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
© Stefano Tacchinardi


Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
Site Plan
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
Ground Floor Plan


Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
Graphic Design
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
Graphic Design


Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
Details
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
Concept


Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo
Glowing Bicycle Station in Bergamo