Santa Barbara, California, USA
John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects, an LA-based firm known for their formally inventive, socially-driven, community-oriented architectural practice, has been appointed by the University of Santa Barbara’s Associated Students group to design a bike shop that would be positioned in front of the UCSB Admissions building.
Initially, Admissions balked, thinking that a bike shop would bring the idea of disrepair, dirt, oil, and falling-apart bikes to the literal and metaphorical front door of the university; but once they saw JFAK’s proposal, which took the best of a student-run bikeshop—an emphasis on sustainability through repair, a do-it-yourself entrepreneurial mentality, and the health and wellness associated with bicycling—the admissions director got on board not only with the existing scope, but an increased one that included a “selfie wall” turned sculpture.
Recently, the Associated Students Bike Shop has been awarded a 2024 American Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Strategically located along Ocean Road, adjacent to the Student Affairs and Services Building (SAASB), the bike shop’s design draws inspiration from bicycle forms.
Its distinctive geometric structure features a circular roof reminiscent of a bicycle wheel, complemented by a spoked shade structure that defines an outdoor do-it-yourself area.
This thoughtful design not only serves functional purposes but also enhances the campus’s aesthetic appeal.
As the brief now says, “this new shared outdoor area will embody the aspirations and mission of UCSB through provision of an active landscaped area for seating, photography, and other flexible activities centered around wellness and interaction.”
JFAK created a geometrically striking main structure, one that angles into a sharp and sculptural point at one end, and a soaring windowed repair space at the other.
A circular roof references wheels, while a stylized spoked bicycle wheel, as tall as the building, creates shade and a central sculptural gathering space near the entrance, detailed by a blocky bench that supports not only weary student backs but also UCSB branding.
On the interior, the student-run bike shop is bright and open, with individual repair stations filling the floor space while warm wood interior paneling brings a sense of easy sophistication to the space.
While bike shops are generally considered on the rougher side of the rough and tumble world, they are also essential social gathering spaces, where students and, UCSB has discovered, potential students, can bring in a bike for repair, chat with their colleagues, take a shady break outside and take a selfie with UCSB in the background, and fully engage in their college lives.
Project: Associated Students Bike Shop
Architects: John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects (JAFK)
Lead Architect: Alice Kimm
Landscape Architects: Studio-MLA
General Contractor: Cal-City
Client: Associated Students University of California at Santa Barbara
Photographers: Benny Chan/Fotoworks
