The Helios House is a

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States, located on Olympic Boulevard. It is designed as a

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

station with special features and is considered to be the "station of the future." It is the first gas station in the world ever to be submitted for

LEED certification Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

. The gas station was designed by Office dA (Principal architects

Monica Ponce de Leon Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

and

Nader Tehrani Nader Tehrani (born 1963 in London) is an Iranian-American designer and educator. In 2011 in partnership with Katherine Faulkner, Tehrani founded NADAAA, a practice dedicated to the advancement of design innovation, interdisciplinary collaborat ...

) in Boston and Johnston Marklee Architects in Los Angeles. The architects were hired by

Ogilvy & Mather Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging with a New York City a ...

, led by Brian Collins. The lead on this project was Ann Hand, and the purpose of the design was to reinvent the gas stations. The station's roof is designed of triangles made from recycled

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

and contains

cacti A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

and 90

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

s. This reduces the energy consumption of the station by 16%. The station's roof is drought tolerant and collects water for irrigation. The station replaced a run-down Thrifty gas station that previously occupied the site. Built in 2007, it is seen as a Los Angeles landmark. It started out selling BP branded gasoline (at the time, the only BP branded station in the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

), but in 2009 switched to its more prominent West Coast sister brand (at the time)

ARCO ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...

.Google Street View of the Helios House in May 2009
/ref> As of 2021, it is a Speedway Express, a gas station-only brand of the Speedway chain, which, in turn, was a former subsidiary of

Marathon Petroleum Marathon Petroleum Corporation is an American petroleum refining, marketing, and transportation company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil until a corporate spin-off in 2011. Following it ...

, ARCO's current parent company, and now a subsidiary of

Seven & I Holdings is a Japanese diversified retail group headquartered in Nibancho, Tokyo. Seven & I was founded in 1920 as Ito-Yokado, the Japanese chain of general merchandise and department stores. In 1991, Ito-Yokado acquired majority control of 7-Eleven, t ...

, parent company of

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

Features of the station

Structural

* Made of cradle to cradle recyclable stainless steel * Farmed wood facade * reducing landscaping * Grass planted on roof to reduce the need for mechanical heating or cooling * Catch basin prevents runoff into ocean *Canopy collects rainwater used for on-site irrigation and to meet station's water needs *LOW-VOC paint used in back of building * Signage made from recycled material

Energy saving

* Canopy lighting uses up to 20% less energy than traditional gas stations * LED lighting throughout the station, using low amounts of energy to achieve the same brightness * Roof contains 90 solar panels, which can produce the energy needed for 2-3 average American homes * Photocells and timers help customize energy needs to time of day and amount of light

Restroom features

* Walls made from farmed wood and rapidly renewing bamboo * Motion sensor lights, reducing energy waste when not in use * Bathroom sinks are made out of recycled aluminum shavings * Floor tiles made from recycled glass * Low water volume faucets, which shut off automatically when not in use to prevent water waste

Other

* On-site recycling of paper, cans, bottles, and cell phones is provided * Maintenance conducted with recycled, eco-friendly products * Old materials used in construction have been re-used or recycled

References

External links

* {{BP Gas stations in the United States BP buildings and structures Buildings and structures in Los Angeles Retail buildings in California Landmarks in Los Angeles 2007 establishments in California