Einar Helander

Exploring the Gas Station

The number of gas stations in Norway is in rapid decline. In central Oslo, only 17 are remaining. Considering the trend of the last decades, it is safe to say that these buildings are well under the risk of being demolished. If so, 17 unique buildings that are deeply attached to a specific epoch of human history will be erased from the cityscape.


Is there a way for these stations to survive the death of the gasoline era? On what grounds could a preservation then be based? What are the potentials that exist in the architectural, spatial, and social aspects of these buildings, and how could these be explored as well as valued through a transforma-tion?
Gas stations are unique buildings. Not only do they possess distinguishable and highly functionalist architecture, but they have become symbols of mo-dernity and the era of petroleum, that now possibly is stepping into its final phase. In Norway, they arguably also carry a particular value as represen-tations of the economic affluence the industry has created during last centuries. From planning, extraction and shipping, gas stations become the last stage of the process where the prosperity is handed over to the people. Almost synonymous with the era of petroleum, they have a very particular place in time and are important architectural representations of the age of oil.
I have located what I saw as fairly unique key aspects of the gas station: its layers of social culture surrounding it, its colourful expressions, its constant flow and motion, and its difficult relation to the soil. When preserving a gas station, how could these be used through architecture and new programs?
As a way of testing out interventions, I focused on an “archetypal” gas station located in Vinderen in north-western Oslo. While Shell still is both ow-ning and operating it, I created a scenario that could take place when or if they choose to move out, where Oslo Municipality steps in as the new owner.


Although this project is focusing on one station in particular, it should be seen as a test for the gas station in general. The purpose has been to explore how the key aspects could be translated into architecture and program and still have the possibility to be adapted to other stations.


Through working with soil remediation, movement, and colour, I have proposed a strategy that is rooted in community engagement and social activity. How could the local community be a part of the shaping of what the post-petroleum era looks like? By providing small architectural tools, the project
aims at creating conditions for the site to be in constant motion and change, while remaining accessible, social, and constantly reactivated by colour.

Einar Helander

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Exploring the Gas Station