arne jacobsen's 1930s gas station photographed by david altrath

david altrath CAPTURES A functionalist CLASSIC

following his stockholm metro stations from 2020, photographer david altrath returns with his latest scandinavian photo series, this time focusing his lens on skovshoved petrol station in copenhagen. designed in the functionalist style by danish architect and designer arne jacobsen, the building first opened in 1936.

images by david altrath

skovshoved petrol station by arne jacobsen

the gas station, which is still in operation, is located on the main road following the coast between copenhagen and bellevue. jacobsen’s design features a concrete box, clad with meissen ceramic tiles, and an ellipse-shaped canopy roof, which earned the structure the nickname of ‘paddehatten’—or ‘the mushroom’. the oval concrete shell is supported by a single column and covers the service forecourt, providing shade and shelter for motorists and giving the architecture its distinctive look.

originally built as a prototype for texaco, skovshoved petrol station is now a class A listed historic monument and has been restored over the years since it was first opened in the 1930s. in 2002, dissing + weitling architects thoroughly restored the landmark structure in cooperation with the gentofte municipality. the petrol pumps are still in use but the building is now home to an ice cream parlor called oliver’s garage.

altrath shot these images at the end of august 2021 on a road trip from his hamburg home all the way to northern norway. the photos capture details of jacobsen’s design as well as showing the building at different times throughout the day. see other architecture and art projects relating to gas and petrol stations in designboom’s archive here.

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project info:

name: skovshoved petrol station
location: copenhagen, denmark 
architect: arne jacobsen
opened: 1936

photography: david altrath