Trada, an international organisation aimed to inspire and inform readers about the best design practice, published an article about the Gloucester services designs. By highlighting the purpose of the service station, design approach, design characteristics and the sustainability of the buildings, Trada’s article gives me a lot to reflect on and use in future designs.
The first area that I have been influenced by the design by Glenn Howells architects is the radical design approach they strived for; ‘to develop a form and setting which would be sustainable and bed seamlessly into the surrounding environment’. This is because sustainability is becoming an ever-rising problem in todays society, too many one-off products being made, materials being sourced unethically and life cycle of good being cut short. I want to design interiors like the Gloucester services that have been designed to have low environmental impact, for example they insulated to 25 percent above the building regulations and where possible sustainable sourced materials used.
Not only does this bring the overall cost of heating or cooling a building down but also has a long-term approach to aim to help the environment and do their part for global warming crisis. having read this article it effect the choices I will be making in regards to the materials I used in my designs and will focus on sustainably sourcing them and adding features than can bring down the overall energy output of the building. For example in my latest project of Boxpark, I have looked at how to create natural lighting in the area and how this can benefit the atmosphere as well as the sustainability of the shop. Stokes sauces are a company that ‘source sympathetically, minimise production waste and maximise recyclability’ which links closely with the concept of the Gloucester service station.
Another area that has influenced me is the new and fresh approach Glenn Howells architects have taken with its design. They aim to move away from the typical design of a service station by having no franchised brands, setting the station back from the motorway and carefully landscaping the area to create a harmonious whole. For example ‘each visitor building has a single storey glazed entrance set within its gently mounded convex shape, covered with a luxuriant green roof which sweeps down on all sides’ this contradicts the standard service station design and provides a more warming environment to its customers rather than just providing the basic needs. This approach has influenced my designs so far by understanding the important of the experience the customer receives, and how this effect the way people use the area and the time spent there. For example, in my Boxpark project I have focused on how the shape and experience can effect peoples mood and how they connect with the environment as well as having the basic needs of a shop, similar to the basic needs of service station and how they can be adjusted to fit the concept.
Having read this article and reflecting on it, in my future projects I can understand that just because your design contradicts designs already on the market, does not mean that it is wrong. It is important to test concepts that take a very different approach as sometimes it can create an extremely strong design and give a unique experience.