Fall 2005
The municipal WORKSHOP Bicycle Shed was created by Richard Saxton while he was a resident artist at the Coleman Center for Arts and Culture from 2003 to 2005. It is a rehabilitation and upgrade project completed on a failing, city-owned structure in York, Alabama. The structure’s main purpose is to house the utility NOW! public works vehicles that were created by the municipalWORKSHOP in 2003. This project involves a number of low-impact design features and also was a catalyst for the creation of a community bicycle-recycling program and student workshop. Community volunteers Jessie Cunningham and Ervin Sturdivant, Jr. run the bicycle-recycling workshop. The youth bicycle workshops are held the first Saturday of each month and are free to children 17 and under. The Bicycle Shed’s water system works through rainwater harvesting and all used water is pumped outside the building to surrounding plant beds. A hand washing station is located at the back of the building. The structure is equipped with a functional TV/Radio antenna and a solar panel mounted to the antenna base supplies the energy for the buildings water pumps. The water pumps are portable, and can be used with one of the utility NOW! vehicles that has been equipped for the watering of area plants and trees.