emergency infrastructures
design fictions for the reuse of gas stations in a time of crisis[FICTION] In light of the critical drought currently affecting the country, the government has taken decisive steps to mitigate its impact. A new decree has been enacted introducing substantial restrictions on water usage, with the primary aim of safeguarding the supply of drinking water to households and ensuring the production of essential goods. As part of these precautionary measures, the use of water in the energy sector has been temporarily banned, directly affecting oil companies and, by extension, the production of petrol. The former underground fuel tanks of petrol stations across Spanish territory will be thoroughly cleaned and repurposed as water storage facilities. These new reservoirs will be made available to the fire services in emergency situations, with strategically placed refilling stations for tanker trucks distributed along the national road network. It is estimated that, during this initial phase, approximately 40% of petrol stations will be able to undergo this conversion.
This research project reimagines the gas station as a symbol of obsolete fossil modernity in an era defined by permanent drought. Through a series of hyperrealistic, AI-generated images, the project constructs a speculative architectural scenario in which obsolete petrol stations are transformed into Water Supply Centres (WSCs) — a proposed strategy to address water scarcity by repurposing existing infrastructures and strengthening the emergency response capacity of firefighting services in regional and peri-urban areas.
The accompanying installation, presented within a decommissioned petrol station, draws on the language of Googie and Venturian architecture — once emblematic of American Fordism and the car-centric optimism of the mid-20th century. Here, these architectural forms are reinterpreted as relics of a past energy paradigm, reoriented towards a post-carbon future where water, not fuel, becomes the essential resource. The project positions the gas station not as a monument to mobility, but as a prototype for a new civic infrastructure: distributed, accessible, and prepared for climatic emergency.
The installation was part of the exhibition “Arqueologias del Presente” (Present Archaeologies) curated by Carlota F. de Elvira, Paloma Fdez-Daza, Miguel González and Iván Rando (FFF collective). Other invited participants of the exhibition were: Ane Arce and Iñigo berasategui (BEAR), Gonzalo Peña and Aránzazu Mier (KRI), Matteo Caro, Vivian Rote and Pablo Saiz del Rio, Pau Jiménez and Lola Zoido (LUSTE), Saúl Baeza (MAYBE).
Client:
Location:
Size:
Year:
Status:
Photography:
Location:
Size:
Year:
Status:
Photography:
public
Sala de Arte Joven, Madrid
n/a
2024
finished
self-office
Sala de Arte Joven, Madrid
n/a
2024
finished
self-office