Newest attention grabber

One of the sights to watch out for this summer is right within the South Luzon Expressway, near the Mamplasan exit: a silvery-cream structure with a long, wavy roofline. The epitome of a new generation of service stations, the 3,000-sqm. complex on the northbound lane is Shell’s response to the keen competition for motorists’ pesos as they meet their basic needs for fuel and food — and yes, some fun to break the monotony of highway travel.

The architectural handiwork of Asuncion Berenguer Inc. (ABI), the forward-looking building is likewise an example of how architecture can heighten the visibility of a brand. Isabel Berenguer-Asuncion, principle architect of ABI, observes that a good store design communicates the dynamism and excitement of an enterprise.

This is clearly the case in this Shell structure which stops the motorist on his visual tracks as the sight of the glimmering metal-clad building comes into view. Past the Carmona exit while on the southbound lane, one is drawn to the curvy past the structure, the curvy roof transforms into a 52-meter silver wave. The Shell, Select, Jollibee and Chowking logos give away the retail identity of the place and piques the curiosity of the motorist so he may decide to check out the place of the trip back on the northbound lane.

From the northbound lane, the Starbucks and KFC logos just into view from under two separate cantilevered roofs. The Shell sign appears next with the logo of the other outlets neatly stacked below. The place clearly offers gasoline and a diversity of outlets dynamically packaged under one roof masquerading as a wave.

Asuncion emphasizes. "The personality of the brand must show through the design but without dictating the design." She clarifies that in the case of Shell, the source of inspiration was one of the company’s logos which incorporated waves.

The chief designer and operating officer of Asuncion Berenguer Inc. likewise clarifies that ultimately any design should allow an outlet to stand out from the rest of the crowd. "You have to arrest the consumer’s attention to draw him into your store. That’s step one. Inside, you then focus his attention to an array of merchandise. That’s step 2. Only then, can you get him to step three: to purchase a product on its inherent strengths."

Inside the metal-clad building, one discovers a series of food outlets — many of them a notch higher in quality than the usual street fare. Asian dishes including Indonesian sate and curries, for instance, are part of the complex’s offerings. Asuncion explains that the mini mall is one of the first in Asia within a service station complex. It is a departure from the usual practice of other service station complexes which involves having retail locators build their own stores within a given plot.

With over a decade’s experience in designing stores including those in Hong Kong where she received her training, Asuncion is convinced that branding must somehow figure in the design of any retail outlet. In today’s very competitive retail environment, a product can hardly be expected to simply sell itself. One must help a product compete through visual merchandising, whether it is being sold in a mall or an expressway, for that matter.