New ultra-fast charging stations for electric vehicles have now been unveiled in the Danish city of Fredericia. The stations are designed by COBE and offer to recharge the batteries of both vehicles and drivers.

Architect : COBE

Client : Powered by. E.ON Drive & Clever

Location : Fredericia, Denmark

Team : Dan Stubbergaard, Eik Bjerregaard, Caroline Nagel, Ulrich Pohl, Alexander Ejsing, Rasmus Lassen, Dorte B. Westergaard, Peter Hønnecke, Mads Lützen, Lars Harup, Jacob Lantow, Sune Mogensen, Liv Moodie, Maria Aufegger, Hugo Lebrunet, Sofie Naver, Laura Vogt, Connor Forecast

Engineers : ARUP and AB Claussen

Programme : EV charging stations

Images : COBE

From the architect: In cooperation with Powered by E.ON Drive & Clever, COBE has designed a new type of charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in Scandinavia. The stations not only promise to recharge a vehicle in just 15 minutes but also offer drivers and passengers a welcome break and the chance to recharge their own mental batteries while the car is being powered up.

The new charging station is centrally located on the E20 motorway in the Danish city of Frederi­cia. The first of its kind, it is part of an upcoming network of 48 ultra-fast EV charging stations along Scandinavian highways. In the future, electricity will replace fossil fuels in our vehicles. However, while it currently takes around five minutes to fill up the gas tank, recharging an EV is a much more time-consuming process. In our busy everyday lives, every minute counts. Thus, future charging stations should not only optimize the car’s charging time but also offer a meaningful mental break for people to rejuvenate themselves while on the move.

A mental break in a green oasis

COBE’s design, which won the infrastructure award of the 2018 Danish Building Awards for its groundbreaking architecture, revolves around a green rethink of the traditional gas station. The new ultra-fast charging stations, currently being installed, are a place where drivers can quickly and efficiently recharge their vehicle and themselves.

“Electric vehicles are the way of the future. With our design we offer EV drivers a time-out and an opportunity to mentally recharge in a green oasis. The energy and the technology are green, so we wanted the architecture, the materials and the concept to reflect that. So, we designed a charging station in sustainable materials placed in a clean, calm setting with trees and plantings that offer people a dose of mindfulness on the highway,” says Dan Stubbergaard, architect and founder of COBE.

The charging stations consist of a series of structural “trees”. They feature with canopies much like the crowns of trees that filters and offers shade and protection from the elements while defin­ing a green setting and a calming atmosphere. A wild contrast to a traditional gas station where lines of vehicles and the smells of gas fumes and car exhaust are the norm.

Sustainable design

Thanks to a modular design concept the stations are scalable, so a single “tree” can easily become a entire “grove” depending on the need. The stations are constructed in certified wood and concrete, topped by solar panels and surrounded by actual trees, grass and other plantings selected in cooperation with the Danish Society for Nature Conservation with the aim of enhan­cing biodiversity around the station. All components of the construction can be broken down into usable and recyclable materials and the choice of wood as a building material further emphasizes the building’s sustainable design.

A Zen feel

The first of the ultra-fast charging stations, which opens today, offers a relaxed experience in nature with a capacity of recharging four EVs simultaneousley. The Fredericia charging station is constructed as a grove of 12 “trees” with a total crown of 400-m2, rendered in a mix of open and closed roof panels. The goal is for both the new and the coming charging stations to offer users a pleasant, restful and Zen-like feel that may even, hopefully, make the roads safer.

In the longer term, ultra-fast charging stations can also help make it more attractive to invest in EVs and thus promote the transition from fossil fuels to more green, more energy-efficient and CO2-neutral transportation both in Denmark and abroad.