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 are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, 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 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

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 systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

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

Monica Ponce de Leon Monica may refer to: People *Monica (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress * Mônica (footballer, born 1978) (Mônica Angélica de Paula) * Mônica (footba ...

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 collaborati ...

) 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, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

and contains

cacti A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

and 90

solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

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

ARCO Arco may refer to: Places * Arco, Trentino, a town in Trentino, Italy * Arco, Idaho, in the United States * Arco, Minnesota, a city in the United States * ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, home of the Sacramento Kings Companies * ARCO (b ...

.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 petroleum industry in the United States, American petroleum refining, marketing, and transportation company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil until a cor ...

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

Seven & I Holdings Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (株式会社セブン&アイ・ホールディングス, ) is a Japanese diversified retail holdings company headquartered in Nibanchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Nibanchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo. On September 1, 2005, it was esta ...

, parent company of

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings. The chain was founde ...

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