Gone are the days when living a eco-life meant secluding away in the woods with no or minimal necessary luxury along. Times have changed and so have the ideas, designs and technology! At first glance can you figure out that the Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center is an earnest green structure? Nah! This $9.8 million visitor’s center near Ashville, North Carolina is deceptive with its gorgeous appearance and impressive architecture. But it is doesn’t deceive our environment as Lord, Aeck, & Sargent have designed it to use 75% less energy than a comparable, conventionally designed building. Sawtooth Trombe walls on the southerly face, green roof, natural day lighting, high-efficiency mechanical system, natural ventilation, radiant heating, and rainwater reclamation system for on-site use are a few of other green feature that it houses.
Blending state-of-the-art computational analysis with state-of-the-shelf passive solar design, the Center’s mission is to orient visitors to the history, culture and resources of the Parkway and surrounding region, while demonstrating high-performance, ecological design. Via Jetsongreen
