Blikvangers langs de weg. De architectuur van Nederlandse benzinestations tijdens de Wederopbouw

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When the automobile became popular at the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a growing need for petrol. Vying for the patronage of the motorists, oil companies went out of their way to distinguish themselves from the competition. Both the petrol cans and the petrol itself, in the early years, as well as the petrol stations of the 1930s, were in the signature color of the oil company in question to draw the attention of the motorists. The petrol station became a means of communicating with the motorists. Although from this perspective eye-catching petrol stations were quite effective, the committees that enforced the regulations regarding the external appearance of buildings saw them as the ultimate examples of townscape pollution. They successfully urged city governments to impose stricter standards on the appearance of petrol stations. After the Second World War, because of these new regulations, oil companies decided to engage architects of repute to ensure that the designs met with approval by the critical committees. The Petrol Company Fina, Plc. engaged the services of Sybold van Ravesteyn, Esso those of Willem Dudok, and Shell those of Arthur Staal. From 1948 until 1964, Van Ravesteyn (1899-1983) designed 24 petrol stations for Fina, almost all with their own distinct look. In roughly the same period, the standard petrol station designed by Dudok (1884-1974) for Esso was replicated 112 times and Staal (1907-1993) designed the Shell station at the Hobbemakade in Amsterdam in 1954. The main concern of all three architects was that the petrol stations had to be very conspicuous, in order to draw the attention of the motorists. For this reason Van Ravesteyn opted for a trapezium-like structure and a ridged porch for the Purfina petrol station on the Apeldoornseweg in Arnhem; Dudok applied fluorescent lighting in the overhang to make the Esso petrol station stand out at night as well; and Staal designed a striking porch for his Shell station at the Hobbemakade in Amsterdam. All three architects used the colours of the company logo in the building, so that not only the trademark but the petrol station too became the emblem of the company in question. Very little of this ‘carchitecture’ has survived the increase in scale and further standardization of petrol stations after the oil crisis of the 1970s. This may be one of the reasons why the history of the architecture of petrol stations has received little attention so far. Over the past few years, a number of architects in both the Netherlands and abroad have been given the chance to design a petrol station again. Although it is unclear whether this is actually a trend, these new petrol stations do signal a renewed interest in this type of building. The fact that Van Ravesteyn’s Purfina station in Enschede was recently listed as a national monument points in the same direction. Perhaps the petrol station will occupy a more prominent place in Dutch architectural history yet, in light of these developments.