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Ames, IA

Public Good

Public Spaces

Ames Community Arts Council

Cameron Campbell,
Integrated Studio

“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” - H.G.Wells

The Ames Community Art Council sponsored a design/build competition to create bike racks for the City of Ames. ASK Studio submitted two designs and they were so well received, the Council requested a total of three racks to be constructed.

Our design for Written Word seeks to connect people of Ames, the bicycle, and the significance of written knowledge. Reminiscent of a hanging banner, it makes text its primary feature. These quotes are cut out of the metal “banner”, allowing light to stream through, spreading the glowing, written word onto the bicycles and surfaces behind.

The design for Cycle Tracks derives its form from a 1902 map of Ames. Weathered steel rails on the ground recall the primary east-west railroad of the Dinkey, steel rectangular frames are placed according to the street grid of the town. Etched into the steel rails is the quote by H. G. Wells: “Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia.”