What if Asheville had an Official Gateway?

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What if Asheville had an Official Gateway?

  • SPARC DESIGN

    SPARC Design is an Asheville-based architecture and planning firm specializing in modern commercial and mixed use design. Two of the three principals of SPARC Design that will be contributing to...
asheville gate
A. It could be a symbol of a historic effort.AVL-Gateway-Triomphe After all, Asheville is the Paris of the South, why not create our very own Arc de Triomphe? A. It could be a symbol of our expansion to (the) West (Asheville).AVL-Gateway-St-Louis Let's channel our inner Saarinen and create something that best represents our town. or... A. It could be another hotel. AVL-Gateway-Hotel It's certainly a popular building type to construct these days...   Where did we propose this Gateway? We're proposing a city gateway on the west end of Patton Avenue. Here's why:
  1. A boulevard style connector between downtown and West Asheville has been proposed as part of the recently chosen 4B I-240 Connector Decision. This recent decision is largely regarded as a local success and certainly not without years and years of handwork of local Asheville residents. Why not celebrate it with a large gateway structure?
  2. The west end of Patton Avenue is arguably the beginning of downtown, and often the first impression. Currently, visitors and Ashevillians are met with a series of parking lots, car dealerships, and a not quite cohesive streetscape. A gateway could be a much more thoughtful first impression to downtown Asheville.
  3. This part of town is also a vehicular path to River Arts District and not too far from Montford. It's a node worth noting.
What kind of gateway would you want to see?
 What is #WhatifWednesday? Weekly, we explore the potential of Asheville; ranging from practical to plain radical. It’s no secret that our beloved city is quite a popular place. As it grows and changes, we propose topics for consideration to promote discussion about Asheville and Western North Carolina. What do you think of this weeks idea? Share your thoughts!