THE 'AJIRO' -- A PREFABRICATED BAMBOO BIKE, MADE FROM BAMBOO GROWN AND SHAPED LIKE A BIKE

The Ajiro--a concept from Australia--would come from the Earth fully formed. Is this the first step for a sustainable manufacturing economy?

Another bamboo bicycle? Yes--but the vehicle devised by Alexander Vittouris departs from the funky, tiki-bar-friendly lines made from this sustainable, globally ubiquitous grass. A design student at Australia's Monash University, Vittouris envisions a bicycle that isn't built, but grown--the bamboo stalks of the frame being trained into shape while the plant is growing. Inspired by arborsculpture, in which tree branches are fixed in expressive shapes that they take as the plant grows, Vittouris wants to develop a reusable framework that would shape bamboo into nearly finished bicycles.

While arboculture is a craft practice rather than a mass-production technique, its application to bamboo--which may be cultivated inexpensively, and grows with astonishing speed--offers at least a coy gleam of scalability. Manufacturing traditional bicycles expends energy and injects waste into the world, whether the frame is some space-age alloy or bamboo. Vittouris by contrast proposes

"engaging the environment in (the) production phase through photosynthesis and carbon storage till ultimate destruction."

Vittouris' bicycle, which he calls the Ajiro, remains a concept; the project is a finalist for the James Dyson Award, a prize for student work offered by Good Design Australia. But even as conjecture, it's an inspiring glimpse of a different kind of production. The Ajiro goads the blog State of Green to imagine "farmlands full of bamboo manipulated over various structures" in place of bland and wasteful manufactories. Will we ever see green fields of bicycles--or chairs, or bedsteads--growing in the sun? Perhaps not. But even as design fiction, Vittouris' Ajiro may help us ask questions about the things we make. Perhaps by switching our metaphors from manufacturing to cultivation, we'll find the seeds of sustainability.

COMMENTARY:  I love the original design and use of natural bamboo throughout the Ajiro bike. It's quite a unique design concept, and the use of natural bamboo, a 100% green material could appeal to cyclists concerned about the environment.

As a former cyclist, I am not very crazy over horizontal or recumbent bicycles, but they do appeal to older cyclists.  Most recumbent ikes also have an aerodynamic advantage; the reclined, legs-forward position of the rider’s body presents a smaller frontal profile. A recumbent holds the world speed record for a bicycle, and they were banned from international racing in 1934.

I wished that there was a video showing the Ajiro in action.  If you know where I can find one, that I can embed on my blog, please let me know.

Courtesy of an article dated August 4, 2011 appearing in Fast Company

 

Comments

[bpc consultants]

It must be really expensive. Who would think of this idea but you only.