Welcome to the first instalment of 'UQ by design', a 12-part Contact series celebrating the beauty and abundance of UQ's cultural assets. Join us each month as we take you on a virtual guided tour across UQ's three campuses, providing a brief overview of the pieces and where you can find them. We begin by exploring UQ's unique bike racks, and the inspiration behind their intriguing designs.


With the ‘push’ to travel more sustainably comes the need for more bike-parking facilities. Why not make them a feature?

The decorative bike racks at UQ's St Lucia campus came about through a student design competition, organised by UQ’s Property and Facilities (P&F) division in 2010.

P&F Director at the time, Alan Egan, was keen to improve the overall look of the campus and wanted to harness the great design talents of UQ students.

“We were looking for three innovative and durable bike rack design solutions that were unique to UQ, would complement the surrounding environment and could be installed on any campus,” he said.

“The key selection criteria were creativity, functionality, originality and sustainability.”

From a pool of 50 entries, the final designs chosen were the Bird silhouettes by Natasha Behrendorff (Bachelor of Science (Hons) ’07, Doctor of Philosophy ’13, Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery ’14), Fibonacci spiral by Jonathan Wei (Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) ’12, Doctor of Philosophy ’18) and UQ letters by Arthur Wong (Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) ’12).


Click on the photos below to reveal the full image

An image of The UQ letters bike racks, by Arthur Wong.

The UQ letters bike racks, by Arthur Wong.

The UQ letters bike racks, by Arthur Wong.

An image of the bird silhouettes bike racks, by Natasha Behrendorff.

The Bird silhouettes bike racks, by Natasha Behrendorff.

The Bird silhouettes bike racks, by Natasha Behrendorff.

Log bike rack made from fallen logs from the University’s Pinjarra Hills sites.

The log bike racks made from fallen logs from the University’s Pinjarra Hills site.

The log bike racks made from fallen logs from the University’s Pinjarra Hills site.

Fibonacci spiral bike racks by Jonathan Wei

The Fibonacci spiral bike racks, by Jonathan Wei – note the UQ shield in the centre of the spiral.

The Fibonacci spiral bike racks, by Jonathan Wei – note the UQ shield in the centre of the spiral.

An image of the yellow car-shaped bike racks, symbolising the number of bikes that could be accommodated by displacing one car from campus.

The yellow car-shaped bike racks, symbolising the number of bikes that could be accommodated by displacing one car from campus.

The yellow car-shaped bike racks, symbolising the number of bikes that could be accommodated by displacing one car from campus.

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An image of The UQ letters bike racks, by Arthur Wong.

The UQ letters bike racks, by Arthur Wong.

The UQ letters bike racks, by Arthur Wong.

An image of the bird silhouettes bike racks, by Natasha Behrendorff.

The Bird silhouettes bike racks, by Natasha Behrendorff.

The Bird silhouettes bike racks, by Natasha Behrendorff.

Log bike rack made from fallen logs from the University’s Pinjarra Hills sites.

The log bike racks made from fallen logs from the University’s Pinjarra Hills site.

The log bike racks made from fallen logs from the University’s Pinjarra Hills site.

Fibonacci spiral bike racks by Jonathan Wei

The Fibonacci spiral bike racks, by Jonathan Wei – note the UQ shield in the centre of the spiral.

The Fibonacci spiral bike racks, by Jonathan Wei – note the UQ shield in the centre of the spiral.

An image of the yellow car-shaped bike racks, symbolising the number of bikes that could be accommodated by displacing one car from campus.

The yellow car-shaped bike racks, symbolising the number of bikes that could be accommodated by displacing one car from campus.

The yellow car-shaped bike racks, symbolising the number of bikes that could be accommodated by displacing one car from campus.

The racks were built by P&F’s engineering staff and installed between the Hartley Teakle building and UQ Art Museum, and at the front of the JD Story building, in 2011. They still blend in seamlessly with their environment a decade later.

Two yellow car-shaped racks were installed in 2014 on Campbell Road to symbolise the number of bikes that could be accommodated by displacing one car from campus. Designed by former UQ Transport Manager Mark Kranz, they were also manufactured in P&F’s engineering workshop.

And an intriguing use of recycled materials can be seen in some log bike racks located between buildings 67 and 69 (opposite Alumni Court), and in the Children’s playground near the tennis courts, at St Lucia. Created by UQ’s P&F staff, the racks were made from fallen logs from the University’s Pinjarra Hills site using locking hardware (old bike gear-cogs) supplied by the Uni Bike Shop.

Be sure to check back in next month, as Contact looks at UQ's fabulous fountains.


Words and concept: Suzanne Parker
Artwork and design: James North and Michael Jones
Photography: Anjanette Webb
Contributors: Barbara Robinson and Jeremy Crowley

All artworks and artefacts mentioned in this series are located on UQ's St Lucia, Gatton and Herston campuses, and we acknowledge the Traditional Owners and their custodianship of the lands on which the University stands. We pay our respects to their Ancestors and their descendants, who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We recognise their valuable contributions to Australian and global society.