'Bike to the Future' is the latest testament to a cycling revolution we've been witnessing since the 1960s. But the Design Museum Gent isn't interested in the past; between 25 March – 23 October it showcases a collection of contemporary models from the new millennium, including Philippe Starck's electric bike 'MASS' or Tobias Knockaert’s laser-cut bicycle, and prototypes and experiments for the future, with unusual aesthetics, materials and functions.
Wood is popularly employed across exhibition; designer Ross Lovegrove went as far as using bamboo to build a bike frame (it's a surprisingly ideal material, being both flexible and robust). Experimenters went mad with storage space, considerably expanding the awkwardly sized basket we're currently used to, and placing it on ground level – like an amalgam of wheel barrow and a bike – or even in the middle, between the seat and the steering wheel. To further adapt the bicycle to today's hectic life and long commuting distances, Gianluca Sada created a folding bike the size of an umbrella. A few additional accessories join the bikes at the exhibition, such as the magnetic bicycle light ‘iFlash One’, designed by the Danish studio KiBiSi.
It seems like spring is the season for bike events, with Bristol's Bespoke handmade festival taking place from April 15–17, and the Urban Bike Festival in Zurich recently animating the Swiss city between April 1–3. In a society obsessed with health and increasingly aware of environmentalism, this velo-mania testifies to how two wheels have increasingly become an essential part of our urban visual identity.
The show is the latest testament to a cycling revolution we've been witnessing since the 1960s. Pictured: Biomega 'Bamboo' bike, by Ross Lovegrove
'Alérion', by Keim Cycles, 2014
'MASS', by Phillippe Starck, 2014
Experimenters went mad with storage space, considerably expanding the awkwardly sized basket we're currently used to. Pictured: cargobike, by Elian Cycles, 2016
'HMK 56', by Ralf Kittmann, 2007
In our society obsessed with health and increasingly aware of environmentalism, this velo-mania testifies to how the two wheels have increasingly become an essential part of our urban visual identity. Pictured: 'KleinLaster', by Nele Dittmar, 2016
INFORMATION
'Bike to the Future' is on view until 23 October. For more information, visit Design Museum Gent's website
ADDRESS
Deisgn Museum Gent
Jan Breydelstraat 5
9000 Gent
-
Philippe Starck reinterprets Dior’s Louis XVI Medallion chair in MilanDior has commissioned Philippe Starck to put a contemporary twist on a classic piece of seating for Milan Design Week 2022, complete with an immersive installation at Palazzo Citterio
-
Saul Steinberg: behind the scenes at Triennale Design MuseumTriennale Design Museum and publishing house Electa present ‘Saul Steinberg Milano New York’, a new exhibition (until 13 March 2022) that pays homage to the American artist through 350 works. Join us for a behind-the-scenes peek at it's installation
-
Ten years of Muller Van Severen, at Design Museum GhentA new exhibition by Belgian design duo Muller Van Severen (until 6 March 2022) features a retrospective of the studio’s ten years as well as a curation of pieces from the Design Museum Ghent collections
-
Noguchi show celebrates his reverence for GreeceDesign show ‘Objects of Common Interest: Hard, Soft, and All Lit Up with Nowhere to Go’ opens in collaboration with Wallpaper* Designers of the Year, Objects of Common Interest, at the Noguchi Museum in Queens, New York (until 13 February 2022)
-
‘Design not for children, but for everyone’: Jewish Museum Berlin’s new play spaceOlson Kundig architecture and design practice brings kids’ play space ANOHA Children’s World to life inside a vast former wholesale flower market, at the Jewish Museum Berlin
-
A landscape of playful animals pops up at Design Museum HolonChild-centric designer Sarit Shani Hay presents an imaginary natural landscape that references Ron Arad's Design Museum Holon architecture and is inhabited by soft, cushioned sea lions, seals and bears
-
Charlotte Perriand’s life and work explored at London’s Design MuseumLondon’s Design Museum presents ‘Charlotte Perriand: The Modern Life’, an exhibition turned the spotlight on one of the most iconic creators of the 20th century
-
Meet the Design Museum’s all-female Designers in ResidenceThe multidisciplinary cohort includes Enni-Kukka Tuomala, Abiola Onabule, Cynthia Voza Lusilu and Ioana Man, who developed a series of multidisciplinary projects with the Design Museum, responding to the theme of ‘Care'
