E. Fay Jones

  
         
 

Fay Jones was a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright who spend most of his career at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He worked in the tradition of Wright using native materials and marrying his stuctures to their natural setting. There are about ten or so structrures in Fayetteville designed by Jones and his colleagues, but perhaps the best known of his works are his sacred structures. We visited the Thorncrown chapel in Eureka Springs with Rich and Natalie, and, after seeing it, we hope soon to get to Hot Springs to see the Cooper Memorial Chapel.

Fay Jones carried Wright's ideas to fruition.

  
 

Fayetteville

    
 
This building was built in the 1960s as a physician's office. It was vacant and neglected for nearly 30 years until it was renovated and restored by Jennings and McKee, colleagues of Jones. A lovely and functional building.
 
 
Thorncrown Chapel
 
 

Approaching the chapel, it seems to slowly emerge from the forested land. The structure echos the verticals of the trees.
  
 
 
 

Entering the building had a physical impact. Suddenly, the surroundings were made of light and the inside merged with the outside. The emotional effect was beyond describing. This is truly a sacred space.

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
The structure is fascinating. Wood. Delicate. The discontinuous connectors he designed are remarkable
  
 
 
 
A "forest within a forest", Thorncrown Chapel was voted by American architects as one of the 5 most important buildings of the 20th century.
 
 
 
 
Jones designed all the details of his buildings, including cabinets and sometimes furniture.
  
 
 
 
 
These pictures are of the administrative office for the chapel. It is completely integrated into the landscape.