Christopher Taurasi, Lexi White, and Jeffrey Lee of LVL (Level) Studio imagined Electric Oasis as a rapidly deployable concept that reimagines existing gas stations as charging hubs for electric vehicles.

Treelike steel canopies provide shade from the hot California sun at a site outside Los Angeles--and they house a bio-remediative aeration system to clean up ethanol contamination from old fuel storage tanks, too. 

The judges were particularly impressed by the team’s thoughtful approach, which turns a banal task into a destination event.

“You’ve taken something very mundane that we give not a second thought to usually and injected a certain level of magic--not just waiting for the charging, but also what you can do with that time,” said Forge Prize Judge Melanie Harris, AIA, LSSYB, NCARB, who is the national healing practice director at BSA LifeStructures. “We’re all looking for efficiencies in our life these days and the last thing we want to do is wait around and do nothing while we wait for our cars to charge.”

The time it takes to recharge is, the team noted, one of the primary differences between a gas and electric vehicle.

“On average, a gas stop takes around seven minutes to refill a tank,” Lee said. “A level-two charging station, which is the most common type, takes upwards of four and a half hours for a full charge. We have an opportunity to reimagine the gas station typology into something that can revitalize the local economy.”

So what to do with that time? In their vision, motorists would relax, work, play, shop, or perhaps even get healthcare while their vehicles charge--all activities that offer new economic opportunities for small communities around highway interchanges.

These charging stations are defined by striking steel canopies that offer shade. In their primary use case, for a site within average EV range of both Los Angeles and San Francisco, a pathway winds through the canopies, offering vistas and an engaging space in a loop that takes about 15 minutes to explore.

The pathway connects buildings that would house retail and other spaces--with photovoltaic panels on the roof, naturally. Those hubs feature a steel scrim that is both beautiful and functional, providing shade that would reduce solar gain by up to three hours a day.

The design takes advantage of steel’s unique modular potential to facilitate economical, rapid erection--and steel’s unique recyclability and circular supply chain add an additional layer of sustainability while reinventing the existing infrastructure.

“This is a vehicular kind of society,” noted Forge Prize Judge Rona Rothenberg, FAIA, DBIA, the 2022 president of AIA California, noting that it’s applicable to a vast number of sites across the country. “This is a great way to reuse what we already have and transform it into a resilient, sustainable and lasting solution.”

What motorists may not see while they’re enjoying the amenities: soil remediation. The design includes a mechanism to clean up any ground contamination left over from the site’s use as a gas station.