National Park Service Gets Long-awaited Destination Center at the Blue Ridge Parkway

published Feb 19, 2008
National Park Service Gets Long-awaited Destination Center at the Blue Ridge Parkway
After more than 20 years of planning, Blue Ridge Parkway has a new destination center to orient visitors to the history, culture and resources of the Parkway and its surrounding region.

At the same time, in keeping with the National Park Service's sustainable design initiative, the new Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center serves as an exhibit of sustainable, environmentally responsible architecture.

Designed by the architecture firm Lord, Aeck & Sargent and targeting LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, the $9.8 million Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center features a host of sustainable design strategies, including an innovative passive solar system to heat the building, daylighting to minimize use of electrical lights and a planted roof to help integrate the building into the site.

Located adjacent to the Parkway headquarters at Hemphill Knob near Asheville, the Parkway's greatest point of access, the two-story, 12,000-square-foot Destination Center is the Parkway's only visitor contact station that is open year round.