Over Here by Iain Jamieson with Zoë Power
The winning design ‘Over Here’ by Iain Jamieson in partnership with artist Zoë Power was chosen in December 2021 by an expert judging panel, and installed outside of Victoria Station in June 2022 for the duration of the London Festival of Architecture. Over Here is a multi-coloured bike rack that uses an efficient, easy-to-use mechanism to make bike parking spaces clear from afar. Each bike parking space features an upright, artist-designed marker – with the original design created by Zoë Power. Behind the parking spaces is Zoë Power’s bold and playful mural, which brings life and colour to the station’s entrance.
When parking a bike, it can be secured directly to the metal rack and the front wheel pushes a counterweight, tilting the marker forward to indicate that the stand is in use. As a result, the position of the marker allows cyclists to quickly see the number of stands that are occupied or where the free spaces are located, even when the bike racks are at their busiest. Removing the bike releases the weight, moving the marker back into its original position, without cyclists having to intervene or activate the mechanism themselves.
Afterlife
Due to the success of the installation, it remained in place for an additional month outside London Victoria station after the end of the festival. The cycle parking was then rehomed at the Nomadic Community Gardens’ two sites in Old Kent Road and Stratford where the NCG have transformed disused spaces into urban gardens where people can grow their own produce and build community connections.