Getting gasoline along the Zuiderzeeweg

The petrol station ‘Kriterion’ is situated on a road which connects the centre of Amsterdam with the ring road A10-Oost and with IJburg, the district under construction. The road and the location will be even more important in the future, and the students who run the petrol station are anticipating this. They considered it to be important for clients to have a well-lit and safe-looking environment.

The shop building is striking for its simplicity. The petrol station derives its strength from the expressive roof – a curved steel structure, clad with profiled steel plates, which provides shelter at the rear, but is open on the side of the road and makes an inviting gesture in that direction. Because the concrete socles on which the roof rests project slightly above the ground, the roof appears to hover. (ARCAM/BU)