Suspended views

Abstract

Land interaction and preservation in architecture is having a larger impact than ever. As the world’s population increases, so does the space required to build on to support the people of the world. Time and time again, we see beautiful landscapes flattened and leveled to support this and it is impacting our natural environment in multiple ways. This presentation is a proposal of a way we can build on difficult landscapes without leveling the area completely and preserving our natural topography that the world has come to love. This example of how we can do this is called the Gatlinburg Cultural Center. The Gatlinburg Cultural Center is a multi-use venue located on the hillsides above the downtown area. The site location comes with amazing views of the Appalachia Mountains around the city and has various locations of steep terrains to build on. The way that this site works without leveling the area is using a series of cantilevered structures branching out from a middle point. Doing this in all directions gives the venue a “floating” feeling for the guests that come to the venue. Thus, serving the area while also paying homage to the land and culture around it.