This post was an April Fool's Day entry. The building pictured is a technology campus in Spain focused on sustainable development. I thought the palm trees would give me away.
From a DDOT press release
Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Gabe Klein announced plans to build a new DDOT office building dedicated to cycling on the corner of H St and 11the St NW on land that used to house the old Convention Center. Called the Bike Haus, the 80,000 s.f. building will hold offices for DDOT's bike and pedestrian programs as well as office space for the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong, the Rails to Trails Conservancy, the Washington Area Bicyclists Association, America Bikes and the Alliance for Biking and Walking.
In addition, the mixed-use project will include the largest and most sophisticated bike commuter facility in the world; the first REI in Washington, DC; a restaurant; a bar and other retail.
The bike commuter facility will be unlike anything else in the world. "It will be the kind of innovative design we hope the rest of the world will emulate", said Mayor Fenty.
Cyclists who join the commuter facility will use an RFID membership card to "park" their bike using an automatic bike parking and retrieval system that has been in use in Japan for years. The facility can park over a thousand bicycles. From a control screen, members can schedule bike repairs or maintenance. While they're at work or running errands, mechanics at REI will retrieve the bike through a separate portal, repair it, charge the member's account and return it to the underground parking facility. The member even gets a text when the bike is removed and returned.
On the ground floor, cyclists will find a full locker room with showers and towel service. Lockers - of which there will be over 1500 - open with the same id card. Lockers are connected to an integrated dehumidification system that will be able to dry clothes and shoes, even after a snow or rain, within 7 hours.
After dressing, members can put dirty bike clothes in provided laundry bags and drop them into a receiving bin. With another swipe of their ID card the clothes are tied to their account and locker. The clothes will be cleaned by a laundry service in the building, folded and returned to their locker by the end of the work day. After work, they can repeat the process with their work clothes which will be returned at the end of the next work day. Laundry is also charged to the members account.
The colorful, glass-louvered and steel building is being designed by noted Hungarian architect Rial Ofpol. It will strive to be LEED Platinum certified.
In the lobby, members will find a DDOT kiosk that allows them to report potholes, downed trees and other road and trail hazards; and an underground walkway that will connect the building one block to the Metro Center Metro station.
“This new architecturally striking facility serves as a symbol that bicycling is a legitimate form of transportation,” said DDOT Director Klein. “DDOT continues to be committed to all modes of transportation understanding each ones importance to a healthy transportation system.”
The building will also feature a bicycle themed restaurant, OTB Bicycle Cafe, which currently has a location in Pittsburgh; a New Belgium Bar and Grill, which features the bicycle themed Fat Tire amber ale; and, as required by law, a Starbucks.
"This is a big F***ing deal" said Vice President Joe Biden.
You can read more here.
;)
Posted by: g | April 01, 2010 at 07:22 AM
hahahahahahaha nice.
Posted by: JTS | April 01, 2010 at 08:04 AM
Can I hitch my unicorn up outside if I decide not to ride to work on occasion?
Posted by: ontarioroader | April 01, 2010 at 08:08 AM
Oh man that's kind of a cruel joke.
Posted by: Matt | April 01, 2010 at 08:23 AM
Son of a... I was really excited to see an REI in DC. Then came the humidifier. And Biden. :)
You are mean!
Posted by: rdhd | April 01, 2010 at 08:27 AM
Does the fact that I fell for this mean that I'm an optimist, extremely gullible, or living in an insane delusional world? All three? *sigh*
Posted by: Lorin | April 01, 2010 at 08:43 AM
I really want this to be true. Complete with laundry and Biden, and hell! even the unicorn. You can keep the Starbucks, though.
Posted by: Amy | April 01, 2010 at 09:42 AM
the beer was the tip off.
so sad...
Posted by: ben | April 01, 2010 at 10:11 AM
I was torn between excitement and being pissed that they stole The Bike House (www.thebikehouse.org) name! Good one, totally got me.
Posted by: Tommaso | April 01, 2010 at 10:45 AM
gotta love april fools day @washcycle
Posted by: Andrewmatranga | April 01, 2010 at 10:57 AM
Got me.
Posted by: tom | April 01, 2010 at 11:25 AM
You forgot to mention that Tony Kornheiser is going to be the towel boy at the locker room.
Posted by: Max | April 01, 2010 at 11:59 AM
grumble grumble ;)
that Biden guy again, sheesh!
seriously that would be the most amazing thing ever if it were to happen, It would be expensive as hell but man what a showcase!
Posted by: john in nh | April 01, 2010 at 02:20 PM
I think it is all technically possible - except maybe the connection to Metro. But yeah, it would be expensive.
Posted by: Washcycle | April 01, 2010 at 03:19 PM
G-damn...I was just about to share this with all my cycling friends on F-book (especially my Portland,OR friends to rub it in)...and then I saw the end. That's COLD!
Posted by: TheVeganCyclist | April 01, 2010 at 05:32 PM
You had me for about half of the article. I think the dehumidification and laundry service finally broke the illusion. But for at least a few seconds, I thought bike nirvana was coming to D.C.
Posted by: Michael H. | April 01, 2010 at 05:54 PM
Damn you Wash Cycle!!! Damn you for mocking my dreams!!!
Posted by: Eric | April 01, 2010 at 06:21 PM
BTW is that picture the new library in Minneapolis?
Posted by: Eric | April 01, 2010 at 06:22 PM
Nice!
Here's our local version of a great infrastructure project:
http://eugenesrts.org/news/burleyactivecorridor
Posted by: Shane | April 01, 2010 at 08:49 PM