Projects
Gridserve Electric Vehicle Forecourt – Gatwick, London
Gridserve
Gatwick, London
Bowman Riley designed and delivered an innovative electric vehicle charging forecourt and hub at London’s Gatwick Airport, our third completed major scheme for Gridserve.
We coordinated the design team and collaborated closely with Gridserve to introduce the most advanced electric vehicle charging facility at one of the UK’s busiest airports, showcasing a compact electric forecourt concept model.
Powered by net zero carbon energy encompassing homegrown energy generation from Gridserve’s solar farms, the project will help decarbonise travel to Gatwick, helping the 30 million annual visitors use electric vehicles.
For a reliable power supply, the project incorporates a 5mW battery storage system with diverse charging spaces, accommodating various electric vehicle models, along with 45kW photovoltaic roof panels for sustainable operations. These features aided in the achievement of an A EPC rating, reinforcing the sustainability credentials of the site.
At Gatwick, the hub building offers a range of amenities, making it a holistic space for electric vehicle users, including a Costa Coffee, a Simply Fresh convenience store, an electric vehicle showroom, a lounge area with Wi-Fi, a bookable meeting room, and washrooms.
Now open at the South Terminal of London Gatwick Airport, it’s the first of its kind at a European international airport.
Please click on our other Energy case studies.
Gridserve Electric Vehicle Forecourt – Braintree, Essex
Gridserve
Braintree, Essex
Bowman Riley supported the development of the UK’s first electric vehicle charging forecourt for Gridserve, a British start-up provider of hybrid solar solutions for power infrastructure.
Gridserve approached Bowman Riley for support due to our 40 years of expertise in fuel forecourt designs. Gridserve’s objective is to radically transform the electric vehicle experience by delivering a sustainable, energy-powered, affordable, public charging network.
Our role comprised lead designer, project manager and principal designer for the whole site, architect on the forecourt and delivery architect on the new modular building. We proposed further specialist and quality consultants and contractors to progress the project in line with the challenging time scales.
Situated on a greenfield site designated as a technology park, Gridserve Braintree is the first 100% renewable fast-charging electric vehicle forecourt with a 5MVA power supply. In consideration of future expansion, we have created the capacity to offer double the supply to 10MVA.
Alongside the forecourt is a new modular building to house a vehicle showroom, convenience store, meeting and lounge to offer facilities for drivers whilst their vehicles are charged to deliver an enhanced customer experience.
This sustainable site features photovoltaic panels, greenery, rainwater harvesting and a balancing pond for urban drainage. The development targeted a BREEAM Excellent rating.
Within the first 18 months of opening the site, EV ownership in Essex increased by 82 percent, which is more than double the UK’s average rate of growth.
We are continuing to work with our client to develop the concept into an affordable and deliverable offer to support their expansion plans to roll out the forecourt model across the UK.
Images courtesy of Gridserve.
See our other Gridserve project in Norwich.
Shell Electric Vehicle Charge Hub – Fulham, London
Shell Fulham, London
Bowman Riley was invited to present designs and assist in the delivery of Shell’s first fully electric vehicle charging hub in Fulham, London. This project follows our competition-winning design of Shell’s Flagship forecourt in the London Borough of Barnet, which introduced electric recharging.
The Fulham charging hub is the first time that Shell has converted an entirely traditional fuels site to an entirely electric site, illustrating their commitment to transforming the UK’s energy infrastructure to a cleaner alternative.
Placing customer experience at the forefront of the design, we re-imagined how an energy forecourt may operate. We enhanced the customer offer with a comfortable area to work whilst their cars charge and refreshments from Waitrose and Costa Coffee.
The very latest charging technology will be installed on this site, providing rapid charging units capable of charging cars from empty to full in just 15 minutes. An extensive amount of research and development was also put into ensuring all the electrical items run quietly even on hot days, imperative for the local community.
Another Shell UK first, the design features two prefabricated timber glulam canopies sourced from sustainable forests to create the structure for a solar array above. These BI-PV solar panels allow natural light to pass through the canopy, protect customers from inclement weather and generate renewable energy. The scheme also incorporates a fully sustainable drainage strategy through the use of permeable paving and underground attenuation tanks.
After many years unchanged we were asked to redesign the Shell monolith sign. A brand-new digital monolith sign was developed for this site on behalf of Shell Global and will provide a live feed of information for electric vehicle drivers approaching the forecourt.
This project was a finalist at last week’s Constructing Excellence SECBE Awards 2022 in the category of Integration and Collaborative Working.
See our other projects in the energy sector.
Gridserve Electric Vehicle Charging Forecourt – Norwich
Gridserve
Norwich
Bowman Riley designed the UK’s second electric car service station in Norwich for Gridserve, a British start-up provider of hybrid solar solutions for power infrastructure.
Following the opening of their large flagship site in Braintree, Essex, the new facility in Norwich forms part of their plans to create 100 electric vehicle forecourts across the UK by 2030. Located at a business park on the outskirts of Norwich, the station was designed to double the number of high-power public charge points in the city, which had one of the worst regional charging infrastructures in the country and below-average levels of electric vehicle ownership.
Our brief was to offer the equivalent charging, refreshment and relaxation facilities of the Braintree site on a much smaller footprint. To achieve this, we created the first Compact Electric Forecourt by locating the charging points underneath the first floor of the two-storey building and lifting the customer facilities onto the first-floor level.
Despite the smaller footprint, Norwich offers the same number of chargers as the Essex site including specific provisions for disabled customers. We designed a modern structure that instantly catches the eye, with contemporary architectural features raised above the backdrop of the busy dual carriageway and surrounding rural landscape. The first floor provides a customer lounge with views over the landscape and a relaxing space to check emails or hold a meeting in one of the office pods. The retail offer is provided by Marks & Spencer and WH Smith with a Costa Coffee café.
Powering the chargers and the building is 100 percent renewable energy with energy generated from Gridserve’s solar farms and an array of panels installed on the building’s roof. This will reduce strain on the grid and result in cheaper electricity. We are working with Gridserve to reinvent their forecourt concept as a third smaller variation for future projects in urban areas.
See our other Gridserve project in Braintree.
Flagship Shell Forecourt – Barnet, London
Shell
Barnet, London
Won via design competition, Bowman Riley has designed an iconic vehicle refuelling and electric recharging forecourt as a flagship project for Shell in the London Borough of Barnet.
Our brief is to deliver a cutting-edge design on the Barnet site where the focus is on customer experience and choice.
The demolition of an existing traditional fuel filling station will make way for the new forecourt to showcase the most up to date fuel formats providing both traditional fuels and fast charge electricity. The intention is for the forecourt to provide 50% traditional and 50% electric refuelling.
The convenience store on-site has been designed to offer an enhanced customer experience providing the largest range of retail products on a Shell Service Station with a café, in conjunction with a new drive-thru concept.
Bringing our 40 years’ experience of forecourt design to Shell, we are providing full design services from conception to completion to visible demonstrate Shell’s credentials and commitment to the energy transition.
With sustainability a key driver, the project incorporates the lowest carbon footprint of any site in the network featuring the latest low CO2 technologies and focusing on waste reduction and recycling. Embracing innovation and the use of renewables, the intention is to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating.
Asda Petrol Filling Station – Blackwood, South Wales
Asda
Blackwood, South Wales
As part of Bowman Riley’s ongoing framework with Asda, we completed a new petrol filling station in the car park of Asda’s superstore in Blackwood.
Bowman Riley undertook the design and principal designer roles on the project working alongside main contractor Premier Group, Dudleys, Adept structural engineers and Project Managers, GPS.
The new petrol filling station houses four pay-at-pump dispensers, two 75,000 litre tanks, canopy, control room, driver controlled delivery unit and totem signage.
The scheme involved the reconfiguration of the car park to accommodate the petrol filling station. The project is situated on an elevated former landfill site with ground gas contamination and challenging structural requirements.
To find your local Asda petrol station click here
Dales Market Corner and Petrol Filling Station – Harrogate
Private Client
Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire
The Dales Market Corner is a uniquely designed, independent convenience store with a petrol filling station in the heart of the scenic market town of Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale, an area of outstanding beauty. On a brownfield site (formerly a car dealership), a Costcutter kiosk was enlarged, rebranded and reopened as a wholly independent convenience store.
This followed the successful first phase of the development; the refurbishment of the petrol filling station and forecourt. Phase 1 involved the refurbishment of the petrol filling station including a new canopy, forecourt alterations and replacement fuel tanks, pumps and lines in conjunction with a specialist petrol filling station contractor. Phase 2 was the partial demolition and extension to the convenience store building to create a circa 300m² footprint (an increase of 200%). The works were planned to be phased to enable the store to continue to trade with minimal disruption.
The store is a uniquely five-sided extension seamlessly integrate into the local vernacular with its use of traditional building materials applied in a contemporary form. From afar, the angular and split-level roof responds to its unique and varied neighbours both in form and height whilst addressing the client’s need for a single storey building. Taking its form from the unusual sized plot, the double-height volume enhances the sense of place and space whilst seamlessly integrating into the original forecourt building. This enabled the store to continue trading throughout and now provides for a logical and considered building. Daylight floods what would otherwise be a typically artificially lit space, thanks to a quirky interpretation of the local dry stone walls and the relationship to contemporary glazing arrangements.
This bespoke development responds specifically to the needs of the local community and makes a positive contribution to the public realm and is a valuable asset to the community, who had to travel as far as Harrogate to buy groceries.
ASDA Petrol Filling Station – Rhyl, Wales
As part of our ongoing framework agreement with Asda, Bowman Riley was commissioned to take over the design and delivery of a new petrol filling station in Rhyl from another architectural practice.
With only two weeks before start on site, it was critical to appraise the design quickly and produce construction detailed drawings to ensure the smooth delivery of the project.
Sited next to an adjacent to an existing Asda superstore, the new petrol filling station was previously occupied by a single two storey ommercial building.
The facility is a six pump station with two new 75,000 litre underground storage tanks, canopy, kiosk, dual jet wash bays together with a vacuum/air/water bay.
The scheme involved creating new access, a forecourt, car parking and service bays, drainage, lighting, CCTV and signage totem.
The site is close to the seafront and as such we liaised with Natural Resources Wales to agree the best design solution to protect the tidal ground water table. Working with the structural engineer, a concrete sealed underground space was created to house the fuel tanks. This design solution will further reduce the potential of seawater pollution in the event of a failure of the containment of the tanks.
Artelia Modular Petrol Filling Stations
Catfoss
UK Wide
Bowman Riley works on a joint venture basis with Catfoss to design and deliver modular petrol filling stations on behalf of Artelia for all five major petroleum companies.
Our modular solutions fulfil a need to provide new petrol filling stations faster and more efficiently.
We are currently involved in the design of two modular models; a large-scale, more traditional petrol filling station and a temporary station with above ground tanks for deployment to a range of sites for several petroleum companies.
Using the latest technology, the modular projects we deliver are predominantly built off-site in controlled environments. This speeds up the construction process as modules can be created simultaneously in a factory at the same time that site work is occurring. There are also benefits in terms of embedding sustainability and reducing carbon, as it produces less material, less site disturbance and offers greater flexibility and reuse.
Esso Petroleum – Across the UK
Esso
Across the UK
Bowman Riley’s unparalleled experience in petroleum projects can be traced back to the 1970s when the practice was first appointed by Esso Petroleum to undertake projects relating to their retail forecourt network across the UK and Ireland.
In the 1990s, we took responsibility for managing the archive of information relating to Esso’s national estate portfolio. This resulted in our appointment by Esso Europe (Exxon Mobile) to develop European standard drawings to form the basis for all retail forecourt developments in Europe. We played a pivotal role in the development and coordination of these standards.
Today we continue to work with them to maintain their standards library to reflect the latest European trends and legislation. This involvement has kept the practice at the cutting edge of forecourt developments. We have also been instrumental in managing the national programme of forecourt upgrades to ensure access compliance on over 600 sites.
Our current activity for Esso reflects their current strategy for consolidation and technical upgrade of their estate resulting in the completion of a significant number of tank and line replacement projects as part of an on-going programme. We are also involved in minor works projects on 40 sites to update the site image to the latest low energy standards.
We have an on-going brief to prepare and update the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmosphere Regulations drawings for Esso on a countrywide basis.
Wm Morrison Supermarket Petrol Filling Stations
Wm Morrison Supermarket
Nationwide
Bowman Riley has been working for Wm Morrison Supermarkets for 25 years and it is testament to our ability to adapt, innovate and strive to break new grounds in terms of project delivery efficiency, cost savings, sustainability, that we are retained as framework architects.
We have successfully designed and delivered numerous supermarket developments including petrol filling stations alongside new and existing stores across the UK.
The new supermarket we designed in Illingworth, Halifax achieved BREEAM Excellent and featured the UK’s first entirely LED lit petrol filling station.
The supermarket and petrol filling station we delivered at Minehead in Somerset was Wm Morrison’ first ever new build design and build project driven with a focus on value engineering and speed of construction whilst maintaining a high level of quality.