Architect：superspace

Location：Ontario 401, Toronto, ON, Canada; | ;View Map

Project Year：2022

Category：Transports;Pump stations;Highways

In a world with limited resources, we will journey in a different path to give life a means to survive. A journey that will begin within us and be handed down to the next generations.

It is a long journey, so we need to stop and recharge ourselves from time to time to pick up steam and maintain our courses right back on track ! c u on the cone !

until we invent teleporting aka beaming up, cars will be our go-to vehicle, especially for exciting, explorative journeys across the country. Whether with your family, friends, or lovers and even with your carpooling bodies, it is always fun, especially long road trips that end with vacations up in a mountain cabin or a lakeside camping site, in a big city that you have never been, or a small village near a natural park, as they say, the journey is important, not the destination. OK, we think both of them are important as well as how you are reaching there and without initial preparation, it might become longer than it is and turn into a small-sized nightmare. Road-side parks and gas stations with restaurants usually come in handy, however, the experience is also limited with full of concrete. Also as EV riders, we need something more appropriate for our living style, something that overlaps with our worldview. We are not just leaving aside the use of oil-based energy due to distant fuel crisis, we are also looking forward to a more green world, where nature and humans really work and live in harmony with a symbiotic relationship so that not only humans but also nature benefit from the whole process.

e-cone steps in as a roadside EV recharge station that uses the possible minimum footprint of carbon and ground for 22 cars. A modular structural and engineered glued laminated timber canopy system circulates up around like the seeds of a cone, an important resource for the country, creating a loop for the passengers to enter and exit conveniently in cases of emergency. It also gives the opportunity for charging different vehicle heights.

e-cone makes use of a looping system to maintain the minimum space possible. The entrance and exit make the vehicles slow down with radial lines that come from the circle and go ahead as narrow paths to the surrounding forest.

Around the looping road, a maze of narrow paths, inspired by the national flag emblem, maple leaf, gives opportunities to stretch legs more and some alone time, maybe. 

Why is waiting so hard, especially what we do is waiting? Why are we frustrated at those moments? How can we make those times more tolerable? Where would we rather be? What makes us forget where we are and what we were doing?

Even where we were going!

The upper courtyard is a guide to locating yourself in geography. Each angle gives important and sometimes trivial information about a city, a natural park, a mountain, a lake, a person of interest, a landmark, an animal, another city... and so on, which are ahead of or already behind in your journey and giving clues of your whereabouts or where you are going.

Each e-cone has its unique guiding system for local and foreign visitors. This makes the story of every journey unique, depending on which e-cone you have visited.

It would also create possibilities to interact and communicate with other e-cones and support a network to gather information beforehand which could help adjust your route.

e-cone is where you forget yourself, blend into the flow and relax while poking around and exploring the surrounding. e-cone makes your mind wander around in a cone of the wooden solar garden, letting nature heal your spirit and fuel your car at the same time. More people around the merrier. Everyone can have their corner and be together.

A safe space for children, the inner courtyard creates a relatively isolated and silent environment to relax and chill in connection with the public amenities.

An inner courtyard welcomes the passengers, as they are waiting for their car to re-charge and probably more with a coffee shop to wake up, a market to snack, a workspace to check the unnecessary emails, and lounges to chill down and relax. This enclosed courtyard circles around for a cozy and warm environment that can help shape a community of EV riders.

Analog and digital post-it boards and apps could also support a long game during the journey, connecting passengers to each other wherever they go, providing real-time information about the weather, condition of the roads, any obstacles, and of course invitations to blind meetings. Besides, apps enabling live streams of any journey can help enthusiasts go around the country following your tracks with gained experience.  

A physical guide for local and foreign passengers, the upper court is quite a place for souvenir photos and romantic kisses. You might also try meditating with a summer breeze.  

The inner courtyard, upper court, and outer park help create distinctive visuals and experiences.

Walkable grid solar panels spread on the ground of the upper court to harvest the sun and produce electricity. Strategically located heating panels meltdown and help collect just enough snow water and sustain the local and endemic plantation of the place, and also maintain drinkable water. These cycles will also foster a small amount of biodiversity.

Electric vehicles have been in demand for the last decade, however, it would not have been possible with networked charging stations spread along the highways. e-cone can easily help shape road-side parks and also create a community with a passion for the world.

And as the night covers the roads, e-cones blend into the dark with a shine on their faces, becoming an icon of safety, homey, and "one more cup of coffee before we hit the road" place, and the loop starts!                       

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