Original name
Bencinski Servis Petrol [Petrol Gas Station]
Original use
Transportation and infrastructure/service station
Current use
Transportation and infrastructure/service station
Architects
Milan Mihelič, Kamilo Kolarič (collaborator), Tomaž Goršič (collaborator)
Engineers
Jože Jaklič
Concrete by reinforcement
Concrete is a relatively brittle material that is strong in compression but less so in tension.
To increase its overall strength, steel rods, wires, mesh or cables may be embedded in concrete before it sets. This reinforcement, often known as rebar, resists tensile forces. By forming a strong bond, the two materials are able to resist a variety of applied forces, effectively acting as a single structural element .
Construction method
In this case, the concrete can be made by mixing the components directly on site, or it may be transported from a production plant in concrete-mixer trucks.
This method has the disadvantage of leaving the concrete exposed to the elements while it is setting. Whereas, with other methods, the environmental conditions can be controlled during setting, providing greater control over the outcome, with cast-in-place concrete a series of tests and protocols are necessary to verify its final strength.
PRECAST ON SITE:
In larger and more complex construction projects, a concrete production plant may be installed on the construction site or nearby. The precast elements are moved into place once they have reached their maximum strength. This reduces transportation costs and ensures the concrete will set in the same environmental conditions as the building site. This may be more necessary with structures that combine cast-in-place concrete with prefabricated elements.
PRECAST IN FACTORY, WORKSHOP:
Any concrete element can be manufactured ahead of time and transported to the site once it has set. In this case, the control over geometry, appearance, finish and strength can be as strict as necessary. It can also be ensured that the pieces will be exactly identical to one another.
Prefabricated elements can be of any type: from façade panels and pavements to decorative elements (such as cornices or capitals) and structural elements (columns, slabs, beams, etc.).
These elements may be part of a commercial catalog or specially designed for a specific project. A series of pieces may also be sold as a coordinated and interconnected system to build a complete structure or even an entire building.
Architectural concrete
- textured walls
- wooden formwork finish
- stamped concrete
- exposed aggregate concrete, colored concrete, etc.
Structural types
This element is characteristic of many industrial buildings from 1900 to 1950 in which large, flared support structures extend into disc-like capitals.
The construction of cantilevers creates structures that protrude from their supports without external reinforcements, contrasted with constructions supported at both ends, where the load is distributed between them, like in the case of a beam or a lintel. Formal strategies can be used to improve the structural performance of the cantilever and reduce thicknesses.
A suspended roof refers to the case where the vertical supports do not rest on the ground but hang from a structure above. Steel cables are often used for these supports, since they are only subject to traction forces.
State of Conservation
Description
This small service station contains a single structural element made of concrete that adopts the mushroom typology with a central pillar.
The structure, of considerable size, is especially noteworthy for the intricacy of its forms, which respond to both an expressive concept and a structural logic. The complex lobular structure, organised around 16 ribs, recalls a flower or the branches of a tree. The structure is also outfitted with a series of grooves and hollows to conceal the lighting elements within the concrete structure itself, further increasing its delicate, weightless appearance.
The designer, Milan Mihelic, was one of the main representatives of the Ljubljana School of Architecture and was a great promoter of cultural and academic activities in the field of architecture in Slovenia in the final decades of the 20th century. Mihelic’s work is notable for the collective housing he designed and for the precision and strict detail he maintained in all the different design phases.
Slovenia
Tivolska cesta 44
Ljubljana 1000 Ljubljana
Commission
1968
Completion
1968
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