What does the future hold for filling stations?
Anjy Fröhlich and Lara Monti in front of a dismanteled filling stations. © Alain Herzog / 2024 EPFL
Filling stations will have to find a new purpose in a post-fossil-fuel world. That's what Anja Fröhlich, architect and associate professor, and Lara Monti, teaching assistant at EPFL's Laboratory of Elementary Architecture and Studies of Types, are talking about in this column.
Filling stations have undergone a fascinating metamorphosis over the past century. The ways in which they adapt and form part of a complex system provide a wealth of information for several research fields. A study carried out by EPFL's EAST laboratory will explore and interpret filling stations’ role as architectural artefacts.
Filling stations are places of modernity, uniquely suited to reflect the process of modernisation as a response to industrialisation. As such, they shed light on many 20th century developments, including shifts in transport infrastructure, commuting patterns, spending habits, social conventions and role models, environmental awareness, aesthetic preferences, and more.
Architecture that reflects changing times
An entirely new building typology has emerged from what started as fuel pumps serving as a strictly functional object. Even the very first filling stations exhibited features that are now characteristic of this typology: a small building for attendants and customers, a covered fuelling island with pumps, striking and often illuminated advertising, and dedicated entrances and exits. As oil companies began to model filling stations after their brand image and add convenience stores, these structures became “one-stop shops” dotting the city outskirts and offering a wide range of products and services, from fuel and vehicle maintenance to groceries and other essentials.
The EAST study will examine the various stages that filling stations have gone through, analysing their designs to identify which aspects are worth keeping to meet future challenges. The analysis will cover 22 filling stations located in Vaud canton and dating from different periods. The aim is to assess the filling stations’ potential for complementary and new uses.
Filling stations face an uncertain future, especially in light of the clean-energy transition.
Future prospects
Filling stations face an uncertain future, especially in light of the clean-energy transition. Will they disappear or morph into multi-purpose transport hubs? The answer will depend on both their designs and how they adapt to new needs and purposes. If we take filling stations seriously as places of modernity, we must consider their architectural designs as well as their relationship to changing functional requirements. Only in this way can we understand filling stations’ role as part of our historical and cultural heritage – and map out a path for their future.
Anja Fröhlich, architect and associate professor, Lara Monti, teaching assistant, Laboratory of Elementary Architecture and Studies of Types (EAST) – Common, EPFL
- This article was published in March 2024 in three local dailies – La Côte (Vaud Canton), Le Nouvelliste (Valais Canton) and Arcinfo (Neuchâtel Canton) – under a joint initiative between EPFL and ESH Médias to showcase the R&D being carried out at EPFL on advanced construction techniques.