(Flickr pic by Arturo Chang.)
You've probably driven by the new futuristic showcase gas station that BP built at the corner of Robertson and Olympic, or at least have read about it. To brush you up, from the LA Times:
The nation's first certifiably green gasoline station sports a futuristic metal canopy covered in shiny triangles of uncoated, recyclable stainless steel.
The rooftop holds 90 solar panels and a collection system that gathers rainfall to irrigate drought-tolerant plants nearby. The underside is outfitted with low-energy lighting. Cars will roll across concrete mixed with bits of recycled glass...
Dubbed Helios House by BP, the eco-friendly station at the corner of Robertson and Olympic boulevards replaces a slightly run-down Thrifty station that served customers from Los Angeles and nearby Beverly Hills. The new gas station was built with cutting-edge earth-friendly design, using such materials as farmed wood and less-polluting paint, and its customers will be pushed to save energy.
Members of the station's "green team" will check the tire pressure on customers' cars and advise that properly inflated tires boost gas mileage. They will give out energy-saving tips, printed on recycled paper embedded with flower seeds that sprout when the card is planted in the ground.
While its customers pump gas -- a three-minute task, on average -- BP will show eco-vignettes and green videos on screens built into the fuel dispensers.
That's all nice, but keep in mind, the gas station is still pumping the same stuff that every other gas station is -- no biodisel and alternative fuels just yet.
(Flickr pic by Arturo Chang.)
The reviews have generally been good so far -- at the very least, the eye-catching architecture is earning strong marks (it's at least a vast improvement over the cheap-o gas station it replaced). Left on Red blogger Jefferson Burruss makes this assessment:
It is strikingly modern and, frankly, quite beautiful for what it is. White jumpsuit wearing pr hires were walking around the lot behind a white picket fence, looking like members of the Dharma Project from LOST...
But it's nice to look at, and since there was a gas station there previously, it's nice to have something so sharp looking as a neighborhood upgrade. Of course I will soon fall victim and will be lining up there to buy some gas. Which is exactly what BP is hoping I would do.
The Helios House opened late last month.
No comments:
Post a Comment