Dubai in the Sky

Steven Holl’s Little Cities
Big population shifts in the world’s largest nation bring on a mixed-use, “micro urbanism” approach
Steven Holl’s three mixed-use projects in China (the Sliced Porosity Block, Linked Hybrid, and Vanke Center) question current trends in Chinese development by subverting monumental verticality with diverse arrangements of collaborative massing, horizontal circulation, and an approachable, urban porosity that welcomes visitors and users. Despite their size, these large projects focus on a much smaller scale, creating what Holl calls a micro urbanism.

Parkway Destination Center Is True Blue
Sustainable Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center set for opening
The Blue Ridge Parkway, arguably one of the nation’s most beautiful roads, winds for 469 miles through the Appalachian ranges of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Lord, Aeck & Sargent worked with the National Park Service on the sustainable design for the two-story, 12,000-square-foot Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center, located along the parkway and adjacent to its headquarters at Hemphill Knob near Asheville, N.C. The $9.8 million building, cut into a hillside, uses site topography to integrate passive solar strategies, capture views of the mountains, and create a “tree house” effect for the structure. The project is seeking LEED® Gold certification for sustainable elements that include vented trombe walls and a green roof of native plants. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on April 14, and the Center will open officially April 15.