Autobahn prototype.

Informed by a concern for energy use and materials, this prototypical building presents an elegant and economical alternative to the general dreariness of motorway service stations.

Motorway travel and environmentalism may appear strange bedfellows, but architecture is often a matter of reconciling contradictory ideals. Thomas Herzog and Hanns Jorg Schrade have built up a practice dedicated to ecological building research with a strong emphasis on solar energy and timber technology. In 1992 they won a competition to design a prototype service station to be built initially on both sides of the Munich-Lindau motorway, and later on other sites. Site specific orientation was therefore not possible, but functional requirements, conservation of natural resources and solar energy use were paramount considerations.

The twin service stations are visible from a great distance as mirror images of each other. These are connected visually (but not physically), by a series of broken canopy constructions to the petrol pumps on both sides. The simple, layered plan places noisier functions nearest the road -the source of greatest danger, noise and pollution and recreational areas, such as children's playgrounds and sitting out spaces furthest away from it.

The twin complexes each contain three main and three ancillary structures: a gateway through which traffic passes to park (also the canopy for the tanking area); the passarelle, a covered walkway between restaurants, tanks and parking bays; the visitors' area which includes restaurant, take-away food points, cafe, shop, garden with pergolas for covered seating and a playground. These main parts are serviced by structures containing kitchens, stores, lavatories, parent and baby rooms, and mechanical plant. A covered delivery and loading yard lies at the rear of the complex.

Forest folklore is a deeply rooted part of the German psyche. On Europe's fastest and most extensive network of motorways, (themselves the cause of acid rain), the service station has always been conceived of as a pavilion in the woods. The incongruous idea of a log cabin beside a race track is reinforced by the excuse that drivers need a restful, familiar environment in which to recuperate. Here, landscape architects Latz + Partner have used avenues of trees and banks of hedges to knit the flexible spaces between the structures into the surrounding agricultural and woodland landscape and screen the motorway from its users. The focal point of Herzog's pavilion among the trees is a four layered grid roof of vertically stacked timber planks nailed together to form continuous beams. Careful consideration is given to the selection of materials and finishes. Planks are air as opposed to kiln-dried. Timber panels and inner faces of the facade are treated with a coloured, solvent free, acrylic-based internal varnish. In the visitors' area, suspended ceilings are omitted. Savings have also been made by exploiting building form to throw off water, so reducing lengths of rainwater pipe and gutter. Waste and soil water is biologically purified in a soakaway plant on site.

The aerodynamic internal roof form optimises natural air flow, supplemented only when necessary by mechanical means, to save energy. Fresh air is introduced via floor inlets at column bases and by long range blowers. Treatment of exhaust air by a heat recovery plant also saves on energy. By using corridors and plant rooms as buffer zones, sandwich facade insulation panels and the double glazing casement system, basic underfloor heating and radiators have proved adequate to cope with Bavarian winters. In summer, solar energy generated by photovoltaic panels along the passarelle is used to drive the fans that cool the visitors' area. Development work on the solar subsystems used in the project was subsidised by the European Commission's research and development funds. At a cost of 12.5 million DM, construction of the new service station worked out, astonishingly, at only 50 per cent of the planned budget.

As semi-external spaces at the mercy of both the public and the elements, service stations are subject to much wear and tear and can be squalid, depressing places. With its intelligent concern for energy use and materiality, Herzog's elegant prototype structure offers a civilized and environmentally aware alternative.

Architect

Herzog + Partner, Munich

Project team

Thomas Herzog, Harms Jorg Schrade, Arthur Schankula

Structural engineer

Sailer, Stepan + Partner

Mechanical engineer

Bloos + Partner

Electrical engineer

Ingenieurburo PTZ 

Landscape architect

Latz + Partner

Regenerative energy concept

Kaiser Consult Bau & Umweltpartnerschaft

Photographs

Stefan Muller-Naumann