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Building Brand Identity with SUNPAL in a Johannesburg Service Station

Posted in Construction & Architecture
Building Brand Identity with SUNPAL in a Johannesburg Service Station
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By Tamir Horesh

A dusty industrial zone serves as the background for a shiny service station complex on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, in an area known as City Deep, Africa’s largest dry port.

The service station was designed to stand out with its bright red and blue colors in sharp contrast to the surrounding buildings and infrastructure. The designer, Thersia Corrigan, chose a polycarbonate standing seam roofing system to fulfill the vision of this colorful enclave.

The multi-purpose complex is specifically designed for trucks and their drivers, going in and out of the City Deep Terminal day and night. The architect specified a multiwall standing seam polycarbonate panel system in 18 mm thickness. Specific bold shades of blue and red were chosen. The polycarbonate roof panels are installed on the canopy above the fuel pumps and provide much needed shade on hot, sunny days. “The polycarbonate façade and roofing system provides natural lighting, and reduces the need for artificial lighting under the structure”, points Cedric Warner of SCS Architects.

But the main use of polycarbonate glazing in the design of the service station is purely ornamental, a unique application in an otherwise dull roadside station. Red polycarbonate cladding sheets are used on the steel posts holding the canopy above the fuel pumps, while blue polycarbonate panels clad the decorative columns in front of the convenience store. Red standing seam panel system is also used to cover the roof’s underside, and blue polycarbonate roofing system is used for railing on the second level where it conceals the station’s air-conditioning units.  At night, the polycarbonate standing seam roof panels glimmer by employing artificial lighting and the colors seem even brighter. “There was a financial advantage to the client to use the polycarbonate sheeting, as signage and lighting thereof became part of the structure and gave a unique look to this project”, explains Warner some of his design considerations.

The red and blue polycarbonate panels create a service station that is easily recognizable from a distance, even for drivers speeding on the highway. The design clearly meets the client’s request to create an undeniable link between the corporate brand identity, the company logo, and the appearance of the truck stop.