Opened in February 2007 in downtown Los Angeles, Helios House by Office dA is a new kind of gas station designed to explore ways to make buying petrol on the forecourt a little greener and the consumer experience a little better.

Helios House is the first gas station in the US to be submitted for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the nationally-accepted benchmark of the U.S. Green Building Council, which verifies the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Constructed from recycled or sustainable materials, Helios House exceeds current environmental standards for on-site water collection and uses 16 percent less electricity than traditional stations.

The facility is designed not only to be a ‘living laboratory’ where greener techniques can be tried out and passed on to other outlets, but also a forum for consumers to enter into an informal dialogue with BP.

The following information is from the architects:

//Introduction
The design of Helios House embraces the paradox of creating a green gas station. Conceived as a’learning lab,’ Helios House was designed to stimulate dialog, promote education, and foster discussion on the topic of environmental stewardship. The water, heat, energy, lighting, and material systems of Helios House were all conceived to maximize sustainability and energy efficiencies.

//Site
Helios House is located in Los Angeles, at the intersection of Robertson an Olympic Boulevards a major North/ South, East/ West crossroads. Two, pre-existing billboards on the site and adjacent bus stops were incorporated in the design to attract attention to the station’s experimental and educational mission.

For further information and more pictures visit: www.officeda.com.