Architecture studio Woods Bagot has designed a concept for electric vehicle charging stations for Downtown Los Angeles that could double as drive-in movie theatres.
Called Re-Charge LA, the project imagines how electric vehicle charging stations could become visitor destinations.
A screen could double as a shady canopy in the day
It envisions a digital screen that could be lowered to form a canopy for the cars below during daytime, then raised at night to become a cinema screen where people could watch films from their cars.
At weekends, food trucks could be parked at the forecourt to create a street food market.
After dark, the station could become a drive-in cinema
"Because it can take up to an hour or more to fully charge an electric vehicle, the charging places should fulfil a broader set of demands than just the charge itself," said Woods Bagot. "What does the driver do while he or she is waiting""
The studio suggested the forecourt could also be used to hold classic car meets, to connect California's history of car culture with the next generation of transportation.
Woods Bagot said it wanted to pay homage to California's car culture
"The team was inspired by the powerful place that gas stations ? and automobile culture generally ? have long held in the American imagination, and above all in Southern California," said Woods Bagot.
"Everything from the paintings and photomontages of Ed Ruscha, to memorable film scenes in Back to ...