This design by Florian Stadler won first prize.
Designing a service station for refuelling vehicles for many architects may not be an inspirational task. Functionality and economy override all other considerations, leading to the standardization of buildings. German students took up the challenge and the result is remarkable, earning themselves awards and accolades from Liqvis, a supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The fact that elegant design and cost-saving filling station architecture are not contradictory to each other, has now been proved by students of the SRH Heidelberg University of Applied Sciences. As part of an architectural competition, which was conducted in collaboration with Liqvis, they presented designs with a futuristic atmosphere.
The winning entry was from architecture student Florian Stadler, featuring two roof membranes with slightly floating steel frames.
“The design symbolizes a lightness that is very appropriate for both the sale of fuel and the typology of the gas station,” explained Prof. Bernhard Hort, vice dean of the School of Engineering and Architecture of the SRH University Heidelberg, conveying the decision of the jury. Also Ekkehard Ludwig, CEO of Liqvis, praised the work: “We particularly liked the fact that the roof membrane takes the shape of our logo and it’s experienced in this way.”
The jury further awarded Dorian Bosch (2nd prize), Kristina Kraus (3rd prize), Sandra Exner (3rd prize), Luisa Unsöld (3rd prize) and Julijan Weingartner (recognition). The winners were given grants totaling from 300 to 900 euros, depending on placement. The winners Designs were chosen from 19 works, the architecture all originated under the program.
Hort thanked Liqvis on behalf of the University for their cooperation: “It is very rewarding for our students to work on specific projects from practice. The fact that in this case the natural gas filling stations were exceptional buildings made the task even more exciting!”
As a provider of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Liqvis is currently working on providing a network of filling stations for LNG in Germany. LNG is an already available alternative to diesel for heavy goods vehicles. The company is part of the international energy company Uniper.
(Source: SRH)
