Repsol presents today its new service station image, designed by Sir Norman Foster and his team of architects at Foster & Partners.

 The Chairman of Repsol, Alfonso Cortina, and Sir Norman Foster will host this presentation, which begins at 7.30 p.m., and will be attended by a large number of guests from official institutions, Official Architects� Colleges in Spain, associate companies, design studios and media representatives.

 This new concept breaks away from previous designs. The traditional image of the service station brand name is materialised in architectonic shapes. The main difference here is that the traditional canopy protecting the forecourt is replaced by several canopies shaped like inverted pyramids, anchored to the pumps below by the corporate white, red and orange, and the symbol of identification is the canopy itself.

 The building will be pre-fabricated, and there are several types, all of them covered with panels of dark-blue aluminium. Finally, signboards reflect the design of converging shapes, colour and finishes in the final service station design. Construction in modules is easily adaptable to shop surface areas and the services available, also permitting coverage of all station areas and the forecourt filling area.

 This new project will result in a service station which, based on the new supply and efficiency concepts in force at the moment, achieves a modular construction of space, providing a range of solutions, aesthetic harmony overall and clarity of concept, whilst keeping costs within investment budgets.

 Repsol plans to create 20 new service stations of this type in Spain over 1998, and will reach a total of 200 over the next five years. Three new-design service stations will be opened in March: Mateo Inurria and El Escorial in Madrid, and Nudo de Colserola, in Barcelona. There are other projects approved and due to open over the first half of 1998 in Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao. Repsol also won a tender to build a service station in the Universal Exhibition of Lisbon, and this will follow Sir Norman Foster�s design. In fact, this service station is scheduled for completion before the Expo 98, which opens on May 22nd and continues until September 30^th.