Fastned, the European fast-charging company and certified B Corp, has won the Popular Choice award at the 2026 Architizer A+Awards for its all-electric service area at Gentbrugge in Belgium. The restaurant and shop buildings were recognized in the sustainable commercial buildings category. The flagship location, which opened in September 2025 as Fastned's largest to date, combines fast-charging facilities for cars and trucks with a restaurant, 24-hour self-service shop, outdoor play area, picnic tables, and well-maintained toilets and showers. All of these are designed around an emissions-free vision of electric mobility.
Fastned's architecture draws heavily on natural materials and sustainable processes. It features a timber structure, green roof, large windows maximizing natural light with the facade oriented toward a picnic area and tree line rather than the highway, and soil excavated during groundworks repurposed to form sheltering hills around the site.
Image Credit: Fastned/Eva Bloem
What's Driving This Trend
- Electric Mobility Hubs
- Integrated charging, dining, retail, and rest amenities signal a shift toward destination-style infrastructure that can redefine roadside travel experiences.
- Sustainable Service Architecture
- Timber structures, green roofs, and natural-light-focused designs create new value in commercial real estate through low-impact, experience-driven environments.
- Emission-free Roadside Retail
- Retail and hospitality concepts built around EV charging ecosystems are expanding revenue models beyond fuel replacement into longer-dwell customer engagement.
Who This Affects Most
- Electric Vehicle Charging
- Fast-charging networks paired with premium amenities highlight opportunities for operators to compete through comfort, convenience, and site design.
- Commercial Architecture
- Award-winning sustainable service areas illustrate how transportation buildings can become branded landmarks with measurable environmental differentiation.
- Travel Hospitality
- Roadside restaurants, shops, showers, and play areas adapted for electric mobility are reshaping expectations for rest stops and long-distance travel services.
