Spotlight: Cargopods

With electric bikes and scooters becoming increasingly commonplace, Make’s Cargopod project, a collaboration with DAR Lab at South Bank University, imagines a future where electric travel services form an integral part of the urban environment.

Populating city streets across the UK, potentially taking the form of sculptural abstractions of trees and land-based corals, Cargopods will provide a one-stop station for cyclists. They’re designed to function as a charging point, water refill, parking place and meeting point all in one – a community amenity that encourages cycling and makes it more accessible.

Constructed from recycled composite materials and powered by renewable energy generated by a photovoltaic panel mounted on the structure’s cap, the Cargopod is designed to absorb more carbon than it emits, both from an embodied and operational perspective. The structure is 3D-printed, using recycled matter. At the end of its life, it can be broken down and reused as raw material for new uses.

Employing a circular process of renewal, the Cargopod turns an environmental problem into a sustainable solution – an opportunity to give something valuable back to the community.