Highlands Architects
Highlands Architects and the History of Highlands, North Carolina
Highlands, North Carolina has been a vacation favorite of people from the southeastern United States for over 100 years. Part of its appeal is that it is not really on the way to anywhere else. You have to want to go there. It does lie along US Highway 64, but nowhere between any significant other destinations. The nearest other towns are Franklin to the northwest and Cashiers to the east, also along Highway 64. One may wonder why it is there. Highlands was created in 1875 by developers from Kansas, who drew a big X on a map, one line from New York and New Orleans, the other from Chicago and Savannah. At the intersection of the lines was where Highlands lies today.
They thought this location would be a nexus of trade of the future and that Highlands would have a large population. That never happened. Hauling freight up and down mountains 4,000 feet above sea level is a daunting task. Just ask the Highlands architects. Even driving a normal sedan up and down the mountain between Highlands and Franklin is challenging, with the winding Cullasaja Gorge creating beautiful vistas along the narrow twisting road. Often, one’s vehicle is mere inches from the guardrail (which was only recently installed) as you struggle to focus on driving and not pay too much attention to nature’s grandeur beside you. But this scenic mountain beauty is what Highlands architects focus upon in their designs.
However, the fact that the place existed and had a toehold in the mountains was enough for others to come here to vacation, particularly from Atlanta, which lies only about 1-1/2 to 2 hours to the southwest. Hundreds of homes have been built here since then and thousands of people enjoy vacationing here every year. These days, the finer homes in Highlands can cost millions of dollars and are designed by leading mountain home architects, which are often Highlands architects.
This is one of the finer mansions (below) that you may find in the Highlands, area, in the Ravenel Ridge community, Designed by Rand Soellner, AIA. It was created with a long left-to-right dimension to take advantage of the great views down the backside to the valley below. Over the garage, you can see the dormers that provide light to a bunkroom for visiting grandchildren. The tall front porch is framed with multiple timber posts and a timber truss, supporting a sheltering roof, high above. This is mountain style at its best.
Highlands architects, mountain architects.
One of these Highlands architects is Rand Soellner Architect, one of the world’s leading mountain home architects, senior staff architect with HOME ARCHITECTS ®, who has designed multiple luxury mountain homes in Highlands, Cashiers, Franklin, Glenville, Lake Toxaway and throughout the United States and other projects abroad. Integral to Soellner’s designs is an appreciation for each unique site, especially the views. Rand Soellner at one time worked for one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s main apprentices, and learned about Frank Wright’s View Systems, which Soellner uses to align the window areas of his mountain homes with spectacular mountain peaks, lakes and waterfalls. “You really need to celebrate these views; that’s why people bought their sites,” commented Soellner, ” Highlands architects need to focus as much attention on the environment around their homes as possible, bringing the outside in and inside out, like in my Outdoor Living Rooms.”
Highlands is a special place of refuge for those willing to make the journey. But be careful, it is easy to fall in love with this place. You may end up staying.
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