When most people think of elegant design in architecture and planning, the ideas that come to mind might look regal: grand detailing, classic silhouettes, a flair for the expensive and ornate. To Allison Thurmond Quinlan, however, true elegance in design involves more than just beautiful aesthetics— it also requires that the design be realistic, resilient, and adaptable.
Flintlock LAB (landscape, architecture, building) is a multidisciplinary consulting design firm in Fayetteville, AR founded by architect/landscape architect Allison Thurmond Quinlan. Their focus is on providing sustainable, aesthetically pleasing, and functional design solutions from many practices, such as architecture, landscape architecture, master planning, and infrastructure investment analysis.
Quinlan seeks out design opportunities that can be “lovable, sustainable, and [walkable] places so that we can save our productive and sensitive ecosystems from sprawl.” Some of their most notable works include the Ramble, Ozark Natural Foods, and the various renovated mansion-flats they’ve done.
This variety of services makes Flintlock LAB a dynamic firm with the ability to offer well-rounded, appropriate design solutions for not only a singular client but an entire community.
Designing on a community scale requires an understanding of the holistic systems and environments surrounding each project. As Quinlan states, “There is a real beauty that comes out of context.” And Quinlan is no stranger to working within a particular context—living and working in the Northwest Arkansas (NWA) region since 2012 has taught her that you must work deeply in a place for decades to accumulate enough small projects that can make lasting change.
NWA’s context is unique due to its polycentric nature, meaning that it is a region comprised of multiple city centers. Each core city in NWA is independently governed, managed, and built. The challenge is finding macro-level infrastructure and design solutions that can blend seamlessly from one city to the next while still honoring each city’s unique characteristics and identity.
Since no two projects in NWA will have the same needs, Flintlock LAB must approach each design with a blank slate. Some of the questions that Quinlan and Flintlock LAB consider when beginning a project are, “[Will it be] useful in ten years? [Will it be] flexible to changing market needs in twenty years? Can it be renovated in fifty years into a different use?” These questions offer the team a framework for creating resilient buildings and landscapes that appropriately use or reuse materials in ways that allow the design to adapt over time. For example, NWA’s average household size in 1950 was 3.8 people per house, but the projected household size in 2030 will be about 2 people per house.
Considering that NWA’s population growth is also projected to double by 2040, we will need more than double as many houses in 2040 as was necessary in 1950 to address both population growth and smaller household sizes. Yet despite the expected decline in household size, NWA’s residential zoning policies still prioritize building large, single-family home lots which consume far more space than our households will need. This creates an evident discrepancy between NWA’s current housing practices and the community’s evolving needs.
As household sizes in NWA continue to get smaller, the houses we build will need to get smaller as well. Flintlock LAB has dedicated much of its work towards creating plans for these smaller, “missing middle housing” types. Some of the plans that they offer are for accessory dwelling units for single-family home lots as well as duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes. Their plans are modular and can shift to fit a variety of locations and price points, allowing their work to be accessible regardless of the potential limitations a community or client might have. The success of these designs speaks for itself: according to Quinlan, “We’ve never had a client unable to sell one.”
A key concern with NWA's sprawling subdivisions is inefficient land use. If single-family homes keep expanding without adequate infrastructure, cities risk unsustainable growth. Planning growth around a stable, expandable infrastructure allows for better land use and future development. In Quinlan’s presentation at the Groundwork Housing Summit titled “The Future of Living in Northwest Arkansas”, she includes helpful visuals that depict the future of Northwest Arkansas’s potential land use consumption.
To prevent sprawl and protect greenspace for future generations, Quinlan believes that we must prioritize building denser housing on our developed land rather than in existing greenspaces. But dense, urban-infill housing needs to be resilient, adaptable, and affordable as well. This is where Flintlock LAB’s expertise on density, historic preservation work, and urban infill projects truly shines: Quinlan’s team has renovated several historic mansions in NWA from single-family homes into mansion-flats, which are “scaled like a big grand house—sometimes they were—[but] they hold a number of small, dignified apartments” that can provide as many as 27 units per acre. These mansion-flats are resilient and adaptable given that they were renovated as opposed to being torn down for new construction. Additionally, renting or buying an existing renovated home can often be more affordable than buying a newly constructed home.
While the housing crisis can’t be fixed in a day, we can—and must—take measures now to secure a more attainable future for both current and future residents. As population growth continues to soar in Northwest Arkansas, Quinlan and Flintlock LAB’s work will be more important than ever to help foster an inclusive, accessible NWA community for generations to come.
Written By Kelsey Vogel