1. REFLECTION ON “SHARING”

Though born of good intention (resources conservation, green commuting and making life more convenient), shared bicycles are becoming monsters under unbridled commercial sprawl. They have gobbled up raw materials, encroached on scarce urban public space and been dumped in massive piles.

A large number of shared bicycles, without any quality problems, have been forced to retire. Do we have any better solutions to handle this problem instead of recycling them in such a crude manner? As a designer living in the city, I have often wondered how these abandoned bikes can be better reused.

2. A MOBILE MAKER CLASSROOM FOR CHILDREN

I have a friend who specializes in children’s maker education. His selfmade teaching props often need to be moved in and out of his office. He usually ties them to a grocery cart and wheels them to school to explain to the children and parents. Having seen this, I wanted to create a small and ingenious storage cart to support his endeavour.

By using an abandoned bicycle, discarded iron car sheets, and leftover materials from eco-friendly boards, it was possible to create a mobile maker classroom for children. The goal was to make it creative, interesting and lively, and bring hope for the reuse of industrial waste in a natural and artistic way.

The shared bicycle was transformed into a tricycle with a large loading capacity, in order to display more items. To protect the items and stop them moving around, we designed a special cover on the shelf, which drew inspirations from ladybirds, a beneficial insect that kids are familiar with. The way that these beetles open and close their wings was applied to the cover, appealing and creative. Because of the beetle-wings-shaped cover, the shelf needs to be relatively long. With a view to ensuring the stability of the tricycle, we added an auxiliary omni wheel to its end. For the enclosed inner space, a multi-layer display structure was designed, which strengthens the whole installation and makes it more convenient to store items. From top to bottom, the layers gradually become larger, with the lowest one suitable for kids to sit and lean on.

3. A MICRO SHARED LIBRARY

Although it was originally designed to be a children’s mobile maker classroom, I also hoped to endow it with multiple functions. The interior space for displaying items has been flexibly partitioned into several smaller storage areas by plates, which can be freely adjusted according to user needs. All the partitions can also be removed, forming a big integrated space. The installation can be customized based on different needs, making it versatile and “universal”.

For example, it can be used as a micro shared library, where secondhand books collected from my friends are arranged. Each friend provided one or more books, and they were invited to write a sentence in the books they shared. This tiny shared library can be placed in somewhere in the city. Everyone are allowed to read the books and put their used books here to replace their loved one.

Shared bikes have been abandoned in the cities. However, this offers tantilizing possibilities for book sharing.

4. SHARED LADYBIRDS IN THE UNKNOWN CITY

Urban development constantly creates new things, which may bring hope or cause great disappointment.

Facing the unknown trajectory of development in the city, we should stay positive, strive to turn waste into treasure and tackle the changing situation responsively, so as to better take care of the city and the earth.

The Shared Ladybird, is like a "beneficial insect" walking on the "urban leaf", which can be used as a mobile library, a stall, or a maker classroom for kids.

Or, it is merely a well-meaning reflection of the unknown quantity in urban development.