At Konos Creative, we believe that good design is good business. Spaces with integrity become destinations with roots: places people want to return to again and again. So we put our time and our hearts into designing commercial spaces that are rich in aesthetics and built for longevity.

The design process matters as much to us as the design itself. To shape a space into an experience, we’re careful with our process. We listen—to owners, patrons, and the space itself. We spend time with our clients, hearing their ideas and internalizing their dreams, instead of just checking boxes on a compliance list. We spend time in the space, considering visual, practical, and emotional aspects of the project. Then we integrate elements from the surroundings, explore spatial possibilities, and consider light, materials, color, and flow so that each space is a unique expression of the people who eat, shop, or work there.

During our process, you can expect flexibility, commitment, honesty, enthusiasm, creativity, and hard work.

Here are a few things our clients appreciate about us:

We give you plenty of face-to-face meetings.
We’re accessible, flexible, reachable. We value collaboration and make sure everyone has enough quality time to communicate.

 

We know the ropes.
We’ve designed dozens of spaces, including restaurants, residences, guesthouses, boat houses, barns, schools, and studios. We have relationships with suppliers, builders, and craftspeople. And we know how to navigate permits and other red tape so your project goes as smoothly as possible.

 

We’re comfortable working with your any budget.
We make our professional skills accessible to local people for local projects. Since we don’t have to make up for overhead costs, like the big firms do, we can pass along the savings to you.

goth barn crop
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Hiro Konos

CONTACT: Send Hiro an email or call 206-384-2228

Born in Takayama, Japan, and graduating from Kogakuin University, Hiro has been practicing architecture since 1985. He moved to Seattle, WA in 1992, then Bainbridge Island, WA eight years later, where he has enthusiastically embraced Northwest culture in his life and work. In 1997, Hiro had the distinction of becoming the first foreign-born architect in the United States to be granted permanent residency as an ‘Architect of National Interest’ by the US Immigration Service. He became a US citizen in 2006.

Hiro is incredibly passionate about everything he works on. Whenever he starts talking about a project he is thinking about or working on his eyes light up and he becomes extremely animated and energetic. He has maintained the passion and enthusiasm of a brand new designer through his entire career of over 30 years. He uses all of his experiences as springboards to think about things in new ways, instead of getting caught in a rut of sameness.

Hiro insists on doing things the right way, not the easy way. He draws his building plans by hand, because he learns a great deal in the process of drawing things out. The intricacies of drawing every line, then adding shading and coloring, give him a sense of the project early on that a CAD drawing doesn’t. As he says, “We draw with a pencil, not a mouse.”

By far, the best thing about working with Hiro is his humility. He is much more interested in listening to you, and drawing out your emotions and desires, than he is expressing his own. His enormous talents and skills come into play as he works incredibly hard to make your dreams a reality.

Our Team

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Nico M. Sasaki

Send Nico an email. 

Nico met Hiro on a tour of an architecture project in Japan in 2001 and connected with his unique architectural style. Nico started working for him in 2006, moved to northwest from Tokyo in 2010.

November Farm (2016- ) is her first collaboration project with Hiro, she believes his poetic philosophy will come to life through the joint practice.
She has loved craft in many different mediums since she was a little child. Nico considers architecture one of the supreme crafts to bring in all fun ideas, live in and spend life together.

Licensed in Japan 2002

Master degree in architecture in Japan 2000

Talon Kurtenbach

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Talon Kurtenbach

Send Talon an email.

Talon was born and raised in Olympia, Washington. He has been working on the November Farm since the summer of 2021, and has found an interest in the unique nature of the project. He has immense respect for Hiro’s determination and truly believes his vision will spread across PNW, and much further.

Talon has worked in the Passive House industry for almost two years, providing eco-friendly building products for contractors and homeowners alike. Over that time, he has learned to appreciate the importance of preserving the land around you, both during and after construction.

Talon believes in pursuing what truly fulfills you as a person. He tries his best to truly understand what is happening in the current moment, whether it be a simple conversation, or working through a creative project. He sees that self value comes from persistence, and working hard toward a goal.

Collaborators

Brandon HerrickWolf (Architect)

Jill Carter (Design/ Graphic)

Mavis Mallon (Architect)

Shin & Lynn Goto (Record of Architect)

Yasushi Ao. Aoki (Record of Architect, Japan)

Where can we meet?

Tacoma

Space Design Therapy, 501c3

713 Saint Helen’s Avenue Office 111

Bainbridge Island

The Fernwood Studio

16445 Agate Point Road

Everett

S+L Architects

2731 183rd Ave SE

History

1997 ~ 2017

Lost Arts LLC

Lost Arts was a design-oriented architectural office from 1997-2017.  The designers strove to create exciting built environments both locally and globally, with projects ranging from new homes and commercial spaces to remodels and additions of existing residences.

Lost Arts LLC, Office for Narrative Architecture

Lost Arts was a design-oriented architectural office from 1997-2017.  The designers strove to create exciting built environments both locally and globally, with projects ranging from new homes and commercial spaces to remodels and additions of existing residences.

As key members of the design team it was first and foremost the clients who drove solutions; it was the clients’ needs, desires and dreams that informed the development of the design vision.

Through the designers ability to listen, they were able to recognize the most important facets of their clients’ design requirements.  And while understanding what makes an environment functional and comfortable the designers also knew how to create beautiful spaces and find unexpected solutions for buildings that integrate beautifully with their environment.

The designers gave meticulous attention to the all aspects of a design situation(clients wishes and requirements, environment and site, culture and context), in an effort to blend pragmatic and poetic elements in their work.

Ultimately, the designers were committed to finding meaningful, provocative and functional solutions unique to client, place and idea, within established budgets and schedules.

The Narrative House

While it is true that a good architect can mean the difference between a mediocre project and a great one, we strongly believe that the act of creating a house is a unique, collaborative effort that, by its very nature, brings homeowner, architect, contractor and craftsman together in a special relationship, the quality of which will inform the outcome of the entire residential project.

The success of any house project is in direct proportion to the amount of trust established among all of these team members, as well as in proportion to their free exchange of ideas and their recognition of a common goal.

A successfully realized house is never the work of a lone contributor. Rather, it is a loose, informal and highly collaborative way of working, one that balances the collective energy of the shared ideas of all the participants with the contributions of individual initiatives. It’s neither the competitive environment of the individual struggling to dominate, nor the building by consensus. Rather, it is the interaction and overlay of individual ideas within the context of shared beliefs, goals and mutual respect. It is individual expression within a communal context, for without the opportunity for individual input there would not be the possibility of discovery and evolution within a project.

Lost Arts Team

Shin Goto

Shin Goto has been working in the field of architecture for over 18 years in the Pacific Northwest. He has a wide range of experience in both the design and technical aspects of his profession, which includes working on residential, municipal, educational, retail and other commercial projects. His portfolio includes project management of the design team for the Future of Flight museum in Everett and the development of Port of Seattle’s Terminal 46 among others. Shin is always conscientious of the client’s desires, and takes pride in making sure quality projects are completed within the given budget. Shin’s broad range of experience has allowed him to manage and complete projects ranging from a $50,000 residential remodel to a $18M commercial development.

Shin is a registered architect in the State of Washington and Hawaii.

Hiro Konosu

In 1997, Hiro had the distinction of becoming the first foreign-born architect in the United States to be granted permanent residency as an ‘Architect of National Interest’ by the US Immigration Service. He became a US citizen in 2006.

Born in Takayama, Japan, and graduating from Kogakuin University, he has been practicing architecture since 1985. He moved to Seattle, WA in 1992, then Bainbridge Island, WA eight years later, where he has enthusiastically embraced Northwest culture in his life and work.

Mavis Mallon

As an original principal and partner, Mavis came to Lost Arts after having gained experience working in an architectural firm in Bellevue WA, where she formed her working relationship with Hiro Konosu, a respected architect who relocated to the Pacific Northwest from Tokyo, Japan. Through their close association over the years, they have each brought to the partnership a unique contribution that allows them to consistently produce architectural design of outstanding quality. Mavis’s emphatic response to materials, color, and space help to create built environments always notable in their power to evoke mood.

Yasushi Aoki

One of the original Founders of Lost Arts LLC along with Hiro and Mavis. Yasushi was in Washington for the first three years of Lost arts to help define and create projects.

Gallery of Yasushi’s work