This new Library bike rack is an opportunity to create something special for the community; to fuse practical bike storage with public art. It is a wonderful way to bring character and culture to our Village.
Taking inspiration from our valley's history, I am proposing a bike rack that mimics the visual quality of a paddle wheeler. One of my strongest memories of Nakusp’s past is the picture of the SS Minto burning in 1967. Death by fire seemed like a dramatic and sad end for such a romantic historic icon ... really a marker of time's passing. The paddle wheeler seems to have become a bit of an identity for the Valley. We have a replica installed at the visitor center just kitty corner to the proposed bike rack. By utilizing the same profile, we can draw attention to the existence of the rack tucked behind the wagon shed and provide a fun connection between the spaces.
By utilizing just over a quarter circle of a paddle wheeler at about a two foot depth we can provide something practical as well as historical and beautiful. Viewed from all angles, the layers will interact with each other in a truly three dimensional way and provide interest from every perspective.
