18.10.2022
The idea for the award-winning Biketti bicycle parking house was born in an apartment building project. Due to the exceptional features of the lot it was difficult to find storage space for the residents’ bicycles. As a solution, architect Janne Helin with his partners developed the first prototype of Biketti multi-storey bicycle parking house. The revolutionary design of the bicycle parking house enables the storage of up to 400 bicycles in a very compact space.
The bicycle storage facilities of apartment buildings are infamous for their overcrowding, chaos and bike thefts. Many residents have ended up taking their bikes to the safety of their own apartment.
At Biketti and with architect Hanne Helin’s help, the idea of an architecturally high-level multi-storey parking house was born. The user-friendly, easy-to-monitor solution is equivalent to the best parking facilities for cars.
“Biketti parking houses utilize spaces more efficiently and free up public areas and residential apartment building basements other functions. Difficult-to-use and hard-to-reach bike shelters will be replaced by easy-to-use parking houses, where each bike has its own, numbered place,” Helin says.
THE LIGHT WEIGHT MAKES SITUATING FLEXIBLE
According to Henrik Lemmetyinen, the Operational Manager of Biketti, Biketti parking houses offer property owners and developers the opportunity for significant space and cost savings. For example, the Biketti parking house can accommodate 50–400 bicycles in a space of 65–135 m2, while normally, for example, 400 bicycles require 580 m2 of space when built at ground level.
“The concept has attracted much interest. In addition to developers, many cities are considering Biketti parking houses, for example in station areas, where parking bicycles and scooters causes a headache. Negotiations are also held with the headquarters of large companies,” says Lemmetyinen.
Biketti’s main material is wood, which as a renewable building material stores carbon dioxide in the building throughout its life cycle.
The company has partnered with Stora Enso, which acts as a material supplier and also participates in product development. Stora Enso’s production capacity and technical know-how bring a strong addition to Biketti’s product development.
“We at Stora Enso immediately got excited when we heard about the idea. This is yet another new way to show how versatile renewable solid wood elements are as a building material and how easy and fast it is to build with it. As a result of the cooperation, we were able to achieve a light but stable structure for the Biketti parking house that is also easy to build,” says Tomi Jussila, Sales Director of Stora Enso’s construction solutions.
Biketti bicycle parking houses are built from ready-made factory elements, so the site phase is fast and is not tied to the rest of the site’s schedule. The light structure allows the Biketti bicycle parking house to be placed, for example, on a multi-level terrace.
SOLAR PANELS GENERATE ENERGY FOR ELECTRIC BIKES
Biketti has developed specially designed Biketti Stand bike racks for parking garages, which offer effective theft protection. A safe user experience is ensured by iLoq’s high-quality smart locks and/or own UWB sensors. Additionally, the possibility to charge electric bikes has been taken into account.
“Housing companies should think about the fire safety of bike storage as electric bikes and electric scooters become more common. From a safety perspective, electric bikes should be charged in a space reserved for them and not in residential apartments,” reminds Lemmetyinen.
It is possible to integrate solar panels into the Biketti parking house, so it can also be used to collect solar energy. A green roof that acts as a carbon sink and heat balancer, as well as green walls or plantings can also be implemented in the parking house.
