The University of Winnipeg is a hub and uwbikebox.LAB celebrates its linkage to multi-model transportation paths within the City of Winnipeg. At least four other box combinations are proposed: uwbikebox.INFO; uwbikebox.RENT; uwbikebox.RETAIL and uwbikebox.CAFE. Using reclaimed sea-containers, at each of these proposed sites, a significant amenity is added to an indoor bike lock facility. Each is an opportunity to create a safe meeting place on campus, while providing safe four season bike storage for a growing number of hearty winter cyclists. The master proposal sees the campus as a transit hub for the downtown; the uwbikebox will provide secure, lockable storage for cyclists and scooter-riders who either attend the university, work close-by, or catch a bus here to somewhere else in the city. Well lit, well used, uwbikebox is a series of beacons across the campus.
The uwbikebox will tie the growing campus together through a playful reincarnation of reclaimed sea containers. The light footprint building strategy will use marginal amounts of energy and is designed to be equipped with solar power electrical generation at the roof combined with passive daylighting strategies. The light footprint strategy will enable the uwbikebox to borrow power from existing university facilities and with the implementation of a reverse meter, uwbikebox will be able to supplement power to existing university facilities by selling off its modest excess.
Positioned at the interface of sustainable modes of transportation, uwbikebox is about promoting ridership for public and active transit in Winnipeg, securing the University of Winnipeg as a hub at the centre of the city.