lost rock

location: Benton County, Arkansas
est. completion date: TBD
project team:
Frank Harmon
Matthew Griffith

problem statement

Lost Rock will be a collection of environmentally sustainable cabins and pavilions designed with one overriding imperative: to defer to the rugged beauty of the Ozark Mountains — to rest quietly among the hills and meadows both in form and materials, sharing and conserving the land, never dominating it. Lost Rock is not intended as a showcase for cutting-edge, modern architecture. It will be a casual community of unique, attainable, homes-away-from-home built of materials as simple and durable as the Ozarks themselves, where residents leave the distractions of “civilization” behind and return to nature – to a simple, honest, uncluttered way of life. Nestled into a hillside, perched among the treetops, or hovering just above water’s edge, Lost Rock’s homes and pavilions will be minimal, practical, sustainable structures that blur the line between indoors and out.

our design response

Our team is designing four Lost Rock’s lakeside residences or “cabins,” ranging from 1000 to 15000 square feet, and an outdoor pavilion. Constructed primarily of wood and stone, the cabins are as unobtrusive as possible to give the homeowners a sense of living outdoors. At least a third of the square footage of each cabin is devoted to a screened porch to create wonderful views and to capture prevailing breezes for natural ventilation. The largest of the three features a spacious terrace built into the hillside. We will design more residences as the project progresses.

Perched on a hill, the Pavilion features a large, covered “porch” for overlooking a meadow. Tucked behind the pavilion’s stone façade are kitchen and bathroom facilities.