The Best Scenic Overlook Ever Built

Monday, May 29th, 2006

Posted by Becky | View all posts by Becky
2 Comments » | Published in Design Press, Events & Exhibitions, Landscape Design | 2 Comments

Norway’s Aurland Lookout is opening this month. The photographs make it very clear why the sublime design by Saunders and Wilhelmsen* won the competition in 2002. In recent years, the Norwegian Highway Department has commissioned designs for 30 scenic viewpoints along the road – the Aurland Lookout is the first one completed.

This environmentally sensitive, awe-inspiring design and it’s brilliant siting within the landscape sure beat the heck out of the World’s Largest Ball of String and Wall Drug. It definitely makes me want to hop over to Norway and rent a car.

*Todd Saunders and Tommie Wilhelmson now operate separate architectural firms.

About Becky

Hi Interwebs Surfers, I'm Becky. I live in Atlanta. Besides acting as the "Editorial Director" here on Hatch, you can find me spewing lots of design opinions and tips over at Houzz. Make me happy -- leave a comment!

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Filed under Design Press, Events & Exhibitions, Landscape Design | 2 Comments

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dutch from sweet juniper says:

May 31st, 2006 at 1:13 pm (#)

wow, that is truly incredible. thanks for sharing that link.
Becky says:

May 31st, 2006 at 2:01 pm (#)

Dutch, thanks for stopping by! I meant to add that there is some stomach-churning overlook either being planned or already built (I can’t remember) at the Grand Canyon, but it does not have the beautiful sculptural quality of this work.