Helios House

Office dA and Johnston Marklee embrace the paradox of a green gas station.

Located in Los Angeles at the intersection of two major crossroads, Helios House, a 10,500-square-foot gas station, incorporates a preexisting service station. An important goal of the project was to upgrade the original station in an environmentally conscious manner by "upcycling"-recycling old materials, and installing new materials that are sustainable and recyclable. Helios House transforms the site's existing ground, canopy, cashier kiosk, rear building, and price signs, while incorporating green-building features and messages into the project.

Conceived as a learning lab, Helios House was designed to stimulate dialog, to promote education, and to foster discussion on the topic of environmental stewardship.

The water, heat, energy, lighting, and material systems of the station were built to maximize sustainability and energy efficiencies, including solar panels that cover the canopy’s roof; energy-efficient lights and sensors throughout; a green roof of native plants over the back building; an on-site water collection system that contains the run-off of contaminated water in an underground cistern, where it is filtered, and then distributed to irrigate plants on-site; 100% recycled glass aggregate in the concrete mixture; and prefabricated, recyclable, stainless-steel panels that conserved labor costs and reduced material waste.

As a laboratory, the project takes small steps toward a sustainable future and creates an opening for community outreach and education. For example, recycling receptacles collect paper, cans, bottles, and even old cell phones, which are donated to a local charity.

Helios House engages the urban, car-oriented culture of Los Angeles as a landscape for brand communication and architectural invention. The design of the canopy is the most emblematic feature of the project. While conventional gas stations combine functionally distinct elements, this project develops a formal logic to integrate all of these elements into one seamless whole.

Using a structural bay as a starting point, the cladding system unifies the column base, shaft, and capital with the canopy.  Furthermore, the surface works parametrically to incorporate architectural and technical features using the same technique. The pay kiosk, the structure, the fin panels (as signs), and the canopy are shaped from the same faceted surface. The triangulated stainless steel panels reconcile complex, and sometimes contradictory, requirements of the site, program, codes, and zoning ordinances, and establish the site’s identity.

Helios House melds bold design, inventive fabrication, and sustainable building practices with a multifaceted communication strategy to inspire a community that is eager to raise its environmental awareness.

Formal name of building: Helios House

Location: Los Angeles, California

Architect:
Office dA, Inc.
1920 Washington St, no. 2
Boston, MA 02118
T: 617-541-5540
F: 617-541-5535

With

Johnston Marklee
1545 Pontius Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-442-4886
310-442-4896

 

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