Listed in Arkansas Register of Historic Places on 04/05/06

SUMMARY

The Reed House, at 10810 Hogeye Road, is situated in a pasture in the rural town of Hogeye, located near Fayetteville. The house was built in 1979-1980 by the late architect E. Fay Jones. The Reed House is being nominated under Criterion C with statewide significance as part of the multiple-property submission “The Arkansas Designs of E. Fay Jones, Architect,” as the best example of the vernacular influence as exhibited in the work of the architect, an example recognized by his contemporaries through the 1987 award of an American Institute of Architects Honor Award. As such, it is extremely important within the now-deceased architect’s body of work and meets the exceptional importance requirement for Criteria Consideration G: Properties that have achieved significance within the last fifty years.

ELABORATION

In July 1978 Roy Reed, a reporter in the London Bureau of the New York Times, wrote to Fay Jones about the possibility of designing a house for he and his wife upon their return to the United States at the end of the year. Reed wrote:

"You and I have not met but we have a number of mutual acquaintances around Arkansas, so maybe it is not too presumptuous to ask what I am about to ask. I am writing to find out whether you might be interested in designing a house for my wife and me. We own a small farm at Hogeye and want to build a house there, on the side of Webber Mountain.

"I have been out of touch and do not know what your situation is. It has been an old dream of ours to have you design a house for us. I very much hope that you can see yourself clear to do it.

"I will not burden you with the details of our plans, but here in brief is what we have in mind: We will return to Arkansas at the end of this year and would like to start on the new house as soon as possible after that. We are not yet certain how much money we will have to spend. But, as you know, I am a newspaper reporter and that means that our money is limited. We do not want a large house or a complicated one, but we are very keen on having it fit as well as possible onto the particular hillside we have selected. And, along with a lot of other people these days, we are very conscious of the need to save energy.

"That is what we want, in broad outline. If you are interested, I will get busy and send you whatever additional information you might need. We will be awfully pleased if you are in a position to take this on."[1]

A short time later, Jones responded to Reed’s letter, writing:

"…The Hogeye location and the kind of house you describe sound interesting and appealing. I find myself quite busy right now but could quite possibly take on a new project about the time you are planning to return to Arkansas. To keep the house simple and the cost down we will have to work very closely together. Sometime ahead of your arrival here, if you would jot down the rooms or spaces you want and a list of the things you want the rooms to accommodate – or any special requirements, it would be helpful in getting a preliminary focus on the problem. Any photographs or topographic survey of the site would also put us a few points ahead; if you have anything like that on hand. If not, we will get what we need when you get here.…"[2]

In late September, Reed responded to Jones initial letter with extensive detail about what spaces they would need in the house, and what functions they wanted the spaces to accommodate. It is clearly evident from the letter that the Reeds had been thinking about their house for a long time. Reed wrote:

"…As for the house, we do not need much of the usual family space because our children are grown and no longer live at home. It would be nice to have a guest bedroom with an extra bath. Mainly, we are interested in making this a house to be used, and used hard, by two people. Norma will be in the house every day; she does not plan to work in town. I will also be there every day except for a few hours a week that I will spend teaching at the University.… Norma is an excellent cook and will want a good, large kitchen – preferably with enough space for an everyday dining table. She does a lot of sewing and needlework and will need either a separate room or a well-defined niche in a larger area for that. She likes to listen to music or watch television while she works. My work space, on the other hand, needs to be quiet and private, a place for concentration and writing. It also needs to be large enough to accommodate a roll-top desk that is about six feet long and three feet deep, as well as a typing table, a large chair and a filing cabinet and some books.

"Up to this point, the house I am describing might just as easily be built in a city. But ours is to be a country house, with all the rough use that country houses are subjected to. Dirt from the garden will be tracked in. Our clothes will not always be clean when we sit down. We want to feel that we can be comfortable with a little honest dirt and disorder; that is, that we will not need to worry about soiling walls, floors and “good” furniture. But we do have a few pieces of reasonably nice furniture that will have to go somewhere. We also like to entertain a small number of dinner guests once or twice a month. So the house should have some sort of space that is suitable for the dash of elegance that we all enjoy from time to time. I don’t mean a big, rich dining room and a big, rich parlor with fine carpets, but just some place that is a little apart from the dirty jeans and the tracked-in manure. Our dining table is not large; it seats eight people when extended to 65 inches, and it sits compactly at four feet square without the leaf. The table and chairs are early 19^th century English. We do not have a china closet and we have thought it would be good to have one built in. Our living room furniture includes a seven-foot sofa, four or five chairs, a couple of lamp tables and what I think is called a library table. Also a rather unusual little desk that stands about four feet high and is about a foot deep. For the more casual part of the house, we have a large reclining chair and a seven-foot leather sofa. And a couple of rocking chairs.

"We have no special thoughts about our bedroom except that we like the morning sun coming in the window when we wake up. Our furniture is the usual bedroom equipment, except that our bed is 'queen' sized in a time when our friends seem to prefer 'king' sized. Over the years, we have accumulated enough bedroom furniture to fill four or five bedrooms, but we intend to get rid of all of it except for what we will need in our room and a guest room.

"We will need space for washing and storing vegetables and fruits and for making and storing wine. I have assumed that we would have some sort of pantry-laundry-utility room convenient to the kitchen and our bedroom, and probably a large basement for wine and for storing apples, potatoes and the like. The room for wine-making should have a very large outside door.

"As for the rest, we like shade trees and big covered porches. (We would like a large front porch with a view of the valley and a screened back porch large enough for a casual dining table; I say “front” and “back,” but you could put them anywhere you want. I add this just to let you know that we are serious about porches.) We like stonework. The place has a lot of stone suitable for building. It also has plenty of hardwood, including several walnut trees that need to be cut. If we can get the walnut dried in time, we would very much like to use some of it for interior work – shelves and the like. We have enough for a pretty good supply.

"For aesthetic and economic reasons, we prefer not to have air conditioning or central heating. We would be happy with a ceiling fan or some such device. We like fireplaces and wood heaters and have had enough experience with them to have no illusions about them. We will have propane for cooking and for quick heat in the bathrooms and bedrooms. If I sound less flexible about this than about other parts of the house, it is because I feel strongly about living as independently as possible. I begrudge every dollar that I have to spend on oil or gas. I would appreciate any help you can give me through design – insulation, southern exposure etc.

"There will be a number of outbuildings, but I expect to build them myself. I am keen to learn something about stone-laying, if there is anyone left in the community who can teach me.…

"This has been a rambling letter, I’m afraid, but I hope it has given you an idea of what we want. Whether you decide to build a house for me or not, I look forward very much to meeting you when I get to Fayetteville. We expect to leave London about Christmas."[3]

The extensive letter that Reed sent to Jones gave him more than enough information to begin a design for their home, which was “based on the regional barn style of its country neighbors” and described as being “both simple and grand” after its completion.[4] Later on, Jones would write about the design philosophy for the house while preparing an awards booklet. He wrote:

"DESIGN

"A three-level house with heavily-insulated roof and walls was positioned so as to maximize cross-ventilation through carefully arranged openings and accomplish seasonal sun control. Air circulation is further induced by two ceiling fans located over the central living space. Heat for the entire house is supplied by two wood-burning stoves. Solar heat is gained not only by the large south-facing window but also by a large ridge skylight which extends the length of the central living space. During warm seasonal periods wood frames covered with translucent fabric are “draped” over the skylights admitting a soft filtered light while excluding the intense solar heat gain.

"MATERIALS

"Materials were selected for their permanence and inherent beauty which allowed the house to further blend with surrounding landscape. Fieldstone gathered from the adjacent pasture was utilized for masonry walls, stove backwalls and hearths and entry porch surfaces. Exterior surfaces of frame walls are of Western Red Cedar and roofing is of Western Red Cedar shakes. Interior wall surfaces are of gypsum board with the interior floors of native oak planking."[5]

Jones also said of the design that, “There are barns all over the world – not only in Arkansas – that are basic rectangles with pitched roofs, though this is probably closest to a little barn that I recall from when I was growing up in southern Arkansas.” The barn image of the design was also highlighted by the large window in the gable end that Jones described as “a big hayloft window.”[6]

Although planning for the project began in 1978, the house was not constructed until 1979-1980, and it was almost immediately recognized as a landmark design by the architectural community. The importance of the property is illustrated in some of the awards that the property received. The property received the Excellence in Design award from the Red Cedar Shingle & Handsplit Shake Bureau and the Honor Award from the Gulf States Regional Council of the American Institute of Architects, both in 1983. In 1987, the house received the Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, and the jury comment states:

"This gentle house, modest and beautifully crafter, sits on its Ozark farmland site with great sensitivity, perfectly at home in the natural landscape. Though small in scale, the interior is generous and very livable, exuding a kind of old-fashioned charm. This is a house that is at once very low-keyed yet lively, unassuming yet invigorating. Using natural ventilation, passive solar concepts, and only two wood-burning stoves to provide a comfortable living environment in a difficult mountain climate, the architect has seamlessly integrated the energy-saving systems into the house, creating a design that is energy-conscious without being self-conscious."[7]

In addition to the awards received on its completion, the Reed House received coverage in several magazines and journals. In May 1984, Andrea Dean wrote about the house in Architecture, saying that, “The journalist and his wife got all they asked for, and beyond that an intangible quality of design that transforms their spare, modestly priced, 2,300-square-foot frame building into a small masterwork.… The interior is a spare but splendid open box.… The centerpiece of the living area is comprised of a wood-burning stove and four floor-to-roof vertical elements. Two clay tile flues are strapped together and extend to the housetop to distribute heat more efficiently and inexpensively than masonry. These are flanked by two square and notched, slender structural columns. Out of these mechanical and building elements Jones has forged a striking piece of sculpture visible throughout the house.”[8] The house would be featured in Architecture again three years later as well as in Building Stone Magazine along with journals in Japan and Italy.

The house continued to earn praise and be published about into the 1990s, showing that the design remained significant after its initial completion. The house was featured in Robert Ivey’s monograph on Fay Jones in 1992, and Ivey referred to the house as “one of Fay Jones’s pivotal works, a residence that combines great simplicity and ingenuity.… Its simplicity and clarity distinguish it as among Jones’s most accessible residential designs.” [9]

With respect to the other designs of Jones that were completed in Arkansas, the Reed House represents a unique creation, employing design characteristics not found in his other designs. Although the property is organically placed on the site in regards to its surroundings, the Reed House is unique in that it does not strictly adhere to organic design principles. Rather, it mimics and was inspired by the vernacular architecture found in that part of rural Washington County, an inspiration that was unusual for Jones. As a result, instead of a long, low, horizontal design, the house is much more vertical in character, similar to other significant Jones designs, notably Stoneflower (NR listed 10/30/02) and Throncrown Chapel (NR listed 04/28/00).

The Reed House is also unique in Arkansas for its environmentally-friendly design. Due to the desires of the Reeds, the house does not have central heating or air-conditioning, since Reed indicated that, “we are very conscious of the need to save energy.”[10] This requirement further stretched Jones to design a house that was in tune with the site, in order to take advantage of solar heat gain, something that was necessary during the winter in what the AIA described as a “difficult mountain climate.”[11]

Although the Reed House was completed just over twenty years ago, it is already recognized as one of the masterpieces of Fay Jones, and as a unique design among Jones’s architecture in Arkansas. The publications that featured the house along with being honored with the distinguished American Institute of Architects Honor Award in 1987, one of three that Jones received, illustrate the importance and significance of the design. The Roy Reed House represents a unique adaptation of a basically rectangular, vernacular form. The simplicity of the structure, the use of natural materials and the open “barn-like” interior with loft space create a house which is rooted in the past, yet presents a certain modern aesthetic.

[2] Fay Jones.Letter to Roy Reed.19 August 1978.Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

[3] Roy Reed.Letter to Fay Jones.30 September 1978.Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

[4] “Hillside Retreat on Three Levels,” Building Manual, Fall-Winter 1986-1987, p. 77.

[5] Fay Jones.Draft awards book for the Reed House near Hogeye, Arkansas.Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

[6] Ernest Wood.“Coming Home to Simplicity,” Southern Living.October 1986, p. 114.

[7] 1987 American Institute of Architects Honor Award Jury Comment.Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

[8] Andrea Dean.“Sheltering Roof over a Soaring Space,” Architecture. May 1984, pp. 294-301.

[9] Robert Adams Ivey, Jr.Fay Jones.Washington, DC:American Institute of Architect Press, 1992, p. 173.

[10] Roy Reed.Letter to Fay Jones.29 July 1978.Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

[11] 1987 American Institute of Architects Honor Award Jury Comment.Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

SIGNIFICANCE

The Reed House, at 10810 Hogeye Road, is situated in a pasture in the rural town of Hogeye, located near Fayetteville. The house was built in 1979-1980 by the late architect E. Fay Jones. The Reed House is being nominated under Criterion C with statewide significance as part of the multiple-property submission “The Arkansas Designs of E. Fay Jones, Architect,” as the best example of the vernacular influence as exhibited in the work of the architect, an example recognized by his contemporaries through the 1987 award of an American Institute of Architects Honor Award. As such, it is extremely important within the now-deceased architect’s body of work and meets the exceptional importance requirement for Criteria Consideration G: Properties that have achieved significance within the last fifty years.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1987 American Institute of Architects Honor Award Jury Comment. Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

“A Country Home Requiring Minimal Energy Usage,” Building Stone Magazine. July/August 1983, pp. 20-22.

Dean, Andrea. “Sheltering Roof over a Soaring Space,” Architecture. May 1984, pp. 294-301.

“E. Fay Jones: Roy Reed House, Hogeye, Arkansas,” Architecture and Urbanism. July 1985, pp. 43-46 (Japanese journal).

“Fay Jones & Associates’ house for Roy and Norma Reed…,” Architecture May 1987, p.127.

“Hillside Retreat on Three Levels,” Building Manual, Fall-Winter 1986-1987, p. 76-77.

Ivey, Robert Adams, Jr. Fay Jones. Washington, DC: American Institute of Architect Press, 1992.

Jones, Fay. Draft awards book for the Reed House near Hogeye, Arkansas. Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

Jones, Fay. Letter to Roy Reed. 19 August 1978. Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

Reed, Roy. Letter to Fay Jones. 29 July 1978. Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

Reed, Roy. Letter to Fay Jones. 30 September 1978. Found in the Fay Jones Papers at the University of Arkansas Library Special Collections.

Wood, Ernest. “Coming Home to Simplicity,” Southern Living. October 1986, p. 114-115.

“Wrightiana al tatio,” L’Architettura. November 1984, pp. 812-813.