Locust Grove Event Pavilion

This open-air pavilion takes full advantage of its beautiful location, a 55-acre, 18th-century farm that was once home to the founder of nearby Louisville. Inspired by the property’s collection of historic buildings, the design emulates the porches of Georgian farmhouses, combining limestone walls with a low-slung glulam roof canopy that minimizes visual impact on the landscape while providing unobstructed views. Despite a modest budget, the project presents a high degree of detail. Profiled glulam beams are infilled with decorative secondary framing to create a coffered ceiling that mimics the intertwined branches and sinewy texture of black locust tree bark, the property’s namesake. A popular event space, the pavilion holds musical performances, weddings, and galas for up to 350 people, and the coffered ceiling also helps reduce noise. The limestone walls are set in a herringbone pattern that evokes patterns and hand-laid stonework of the ‘ha-ha’ walls and split-rail fences that surround the property.


Watch a short one-minute video of this project, which was selected as a 2023 Wood Design Awards winner. View the full award gallery here.