Petrol station forecourts are a throwback to the 1960s – or earlier. They are dirty, the lavatories are frequently filthy, the pump technology is forty or more years old; all that dribbling and no electronics. Now, as large parts of Europe are en route to summer holiday destinations, they’re especially nasty.
What a missed opportunity.
Even though some of the major fuel retailers have undergone re-branding exercises over the past decade, they seem to have forgotten that they have customers who take notice of these things. Think of what grocery shopping was like forty years ago and compare it to today. Why haven’t petrol stations moved on? Why can’t they be as pleasing as a drive-in bank or cinema? Surely cleanliness, well thought through amenities and convenience should by now be taken for granted. But they’re not.
What a huge opportunity!
What if Starbucks designed a petrol station? Or The Four Seasons? What would they bring to the table that the likes of Shell and ExxonMobile can’t seem to grasp? It’s time for a major change. We won’t, perhaps, see Isadore Sharp get involved with forecourts. But we will see brands emerge which realise that the forecourt is the place for differentiation. Our friends at Rompetrol have made a good first step with Litro. Who’s next?
by Mila Linares at 10:04 am 20 July 2009
Filed under: Architecture, Art
Kazuyo Seijima and Ryue Nijizaha exploring the Serpentine Pavillion
The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is a unique yearly event in the cultural and architectural calendar of London. A temporary structure designed without a budget and at breakneck speed (6 months from invitation to completion) by an internationally acclaimed architect, designer or artist. Previous pavilions by the likes of Rem Koolhaas with an inflatable glowing space, Toyo Ito with a pristine geometric gem or Oscar Niemayer’s timeless swooping forms, have graced the Serpentines’ lawn for summer.
This year the Japanese couple Kazuyo Seijima and Ryue Nijizaha of Sanaa have conceived an absolutely breathtaking ethereal canopy reflecting the park and the sky above it, a free form characteristic of the oeuvre which is playful as effortlessly elegant. The slim reflective canopy was engineered, as the Serpentine pavilion is every year, by our client Arup, and reflects their innovative and ingenious capacity to consistently deliver outstanding engineering.
As always, the Pavilion will be auctioned after dismantling in the end of summer, so forgo your holidays and place your bid for a unique addition to your home… More info here
Wally’s on the weekly audio digest. He discusses Saffron’s work on place branding, shares thoughts on the old (non-)contest between India and China and reveals who usually decides on a new logo (the CEO…or his bedfellow).
The past weekend was the last opportunity for people in New York to see the Chanel Mobile Art in Central Park. A futuristic nomad art centre imagined by Karl Lagerfeld and designed by Zaha Hadid to celebrate the anniversary of Chanel’s 2.55, the very same iconic quilted bag that warranted a double spread on Wally’s latest book, and so named because it was first issued in February 1955. I took the A train uptown to see what this was about.
