An article in
City Lab reports on the work of students in a studio in the UB School of Architecture and Planning who created laufmaschines, also known as the “dandy horse,” a precursor to the bicycle that was invented in 1816 in response to a very serious climate crisis that impacted the entire world. The article interviews Nick Rajkovich, assistant professor of architecture, who said, “What’s pretty amazing is, among the 15 vehicles and among these dozens and dozens of students, there’s not one solution that’s exactly the same,” adding, “The
laufmaschine was designed 200 years ago in response to a climate crisis. It still holds valuable lessons today, because there’s a lot of interest in the bicycle as a carbon-neutral mode of transportation.”