Lorax Design Group is a full-service landscape architecture and planning company. We provide services for both commercial and residential applications and have established our niche in high-end swimming pool designs.
Software: AutoCAD, Sketch Up, Lumion, Photoshop

20th Century Revival, St. Joseph, Missouri

We blended contemporary details with a historic home. This project provides an opportunity for outdoor entertaining for a family of five or a large group. The spa seats 12, the lower pool has an entry reef, and the upper pool has both a deep end and diving platform.

Mission Hills California Contemporary, Mission Hills, Kansas

 

Mission Hills California Contemporary belongs to clients with an eye for beauty. Their Mid-century Ranch home is filled with murals and framed art, and we desired the pool to be yet another piece to add to their collection. The design is an eye-catching, low-profile plunge pool that functions like a framed piece of art (albeit one that changes daily, based on the sky and weather.)
The color palette is limited to black and white, with pops of green in the plant material. The charcoal-colored pool deck is a brushed, imported basalt and a line of Taylor Junipers, a suitable tree for the Midwest, mimics the Cypress trees seen on the clients' European travels. The tree line creates a green tapestry, not only providing a vertical element, but privacy as well. Mission Hills California Contemporary also includes features like a cast-in-place pizza kitchen, a functional and beautiful rain chain and a unique, cast-in-place cantilevered fire element.

Platte County Ridge with a View, Kansas City, Missouri

Nestled into the woods overlooking acres of agricultural fields, Platte County Ridge with a View takes the words "outdoor living" to a new extreme. We designed this expansive project to match the aesthetic of our client's Mountain Lodge home. We integrated the same substantial timbers from the home into the cabana structure. Boulders, flagstone, and sandstone veneer cover every exposed surface; the enormous flagstone pool deck and sandstone infinity wall highlight the use of this natural material. Water cascades over the infinity edge, spa bond beam and swim-in grotto to create a naturalistic ambiance in every area of project.

Lighton Tower, Overland Park, Kansas

A property management group reached out with the intent to spice up their property's existing outdoor plaza. Their office towers were built in the 1980s, so in addition to a fresh update, they wanted a functional overflow space for employees to eat lunch or socially gather. They were open to any design and while our process yielded several iterations, the overall intent never changed: to introduce new materials in a new way.
We divided the space into several units, but we believe the pergola is the design element that holds all areas together. The architectural structure visually grounds the space and helps people feel at home. The pergola provides a feature that's human scale, which makes the area inviting despite the vertical buildings and expanses of parking lots and lawns. The pergola also functions as a sculptural element. The woven metal pieces are inspired by a bird's nest concept and remains light and airy despite being made of metal-it's almost like an organic tree canopy.

Rustic Retreat, Springfield, Missouri

The placement of the pool creates a transition between the farmstead estate and the steep grade of the site. The composition of the materials, landscape, and placement showcases the meadow behind the home.

Shawnee Wooded Retreat, Shawnee Kansas

Shawnee Wooded Retreat was truly a big picture renovation. Initially, this project began as a small pool design but grew into an encompassing project that included a new pool, spa, fire feature, water feature, pergola structure, and landscape design. With so many distinct areas and features, our goal was to create a cohesive design that unified the entire space yet maintained the naturalistic environment.