A Pavilion with Presence

Winter 2026

A Pavilion with Presence

December 11, 2025

Featured, Outdoor Space or Landscape

Bold yet balanced, this outdoor living space redefines backyard elegance with architectural precision and enduring charm.

Words
Andrea Darr

Photos
Matthew Anderson
@matthewaphoto

Architect
Wendlandt & Stallbaumer
architechnique.com

Contractor
Hurst Construction
@hurstbuild

Designer
ML Designs
@mldesignskc

an and Katie, head of a blended family of six grown kids, knew their Ward Parkway home’s outdoor area didn’t live up to its Georgian elegance. The existing uncovered patio and oversized fireplace felt disconnected—more monolith than retreat. So they turned to architect Bruce Wendlandt for a complete reimagining.

“They told me what they didn’t like and how they wanted to live—cooking, entertaining, lounging—but mostly they said, ‘We want to see what you can do,’” Wendlandt recalls.

Dan, an industry professional himself, understood the creative process and fully trusted it. After the initial conversation, Wendlandt disappeared for three weeks and returned with a sketch that, as Dan puts it, “was 95 percent what we have here.”

The resulting design is an all-encompassing outdoor living environment that complements the home’s architecture in stature and materiality. The pavilion stands as a separate but connected structure, maintaining an elegant buffer between interior and exterior spaces.

“We didn’t want to tuck this big structure up against the living room, which would have compromised the natural light in the interior spaces,” Wendlandt says.

Instead, an open courtyard frames the new pavilion beautifully, with three connected “cells” defining dining, kitchen, and living zones under a substantial roof. Between them sits a reflecting pool and oversized hot tub—offering both serenity and function.

The project team didn’t want to cover up the windows along the back side of the house, so they pushed the pavilion out across a courtyard to allow light into the interiors and space for two water features. Built by Stranger Creek Pools, the spa serves triple duty, also as a fountain and a cool plunge pool in the summer.

The stately brick home is a real beauty from the front. Inspired by its grace and stature, the team developed the pavilion based on the same principles.

A fireplace anchors the pavilion from the driveway entrance. A cupola atop the roof funnels sunlight down into the center of the space during the day, while at night, layered lighting from inside makes the top glow.

A perfect fit: a two-tiered woven chandelier suspends from the cupola.

A mix of brick and millwork columns visually break up the space and define entry to the pavilion from the side yard.

Maureen Lindstrom of ML Designs, who, along with Heather Gormsen, had previously refreshed the home’s interiors, recalls a conversation about whether the couple should incorporate a pool but ultimately decided it wasn’t necessary. The spa functions as a cool plunge when the heaters are off, and without young children at home, they don’t need the space to swim.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” Lindstrom says. “They have the water element without taking up space for a full pool.”

Designed with Precision

For Wendlandt, alignment and sightlines were key. Every axis—from the centerline of the structure to the hot tub and dining area—creates a visual rhythm that feels intuitive. “People know it feels good, but they aren’t sure why,” he says. “It’s subtle.”

Natural light was also paramount. From inside the home, you can see through the pavilion; from within it, light streams between columns and filters down from the cupola above, creating an airy, almost cathedral-like space.

That same attention to proportion and detail extended to the materials.

“The eave work is all prismatic,” Wendlandt notes. “When it’s illuminated at night, it’s spectacular.”

For the courtyard’s brick pavers, he met with mason Adi Shehu to hand-select a palette that matched the home’s front stoop and walkways and laid the herringbone pattern with exacting precision down the centerline.

Behind the scenes, Hurst Construction executed the vision flawlessly, incorporating steel supports that lend the pavilion a sense of permanence. “His infrastructure was so beautiful I hated to cover it up,” Wendlandt says.

That sturdiness was tested last spring when tornadoes swept through nearby Prairie Village.

“We didn’t get wet,” Dan says. “Even with 50- to 75-mile-per-hour winds, we sat out here the whole time—it was amazing.”

Inside the pavilion, ML Designs curated the durable aesthetic with elegant woven outdoor seating, a large textured rug, and a dramatic two-tier woven chandelier that crowns the cupola.

Color cues echo the home’s interiors: while the house leans blue and white, the pavilion shifts to black, brown, gray, and green—tones that blend into the landscape.

“The whole back of the house is windows,” Lindstrom says. “It’s a short distance from inside to out—and it feels completely cohesive.”

With its custom copper gutters, stone counters from Sturgis Materials, and surrounding landscape by Earth Expressions, the pavilion embodies outdoor living at its most graceful. With the addition of Bromic heaters, fans, and speakers, the usable season extends comfortably.

“We cook dinner out here almost every night— more if the weather holds,” Dan says. “Other than January and February, we use it year-round.”