http://www.nelsonberna.com/m/?p=memorial&id=1863268
Maurice Jennings passed away a couple of days ago. In working with us on the restoration of our house, Maurice and his son Walter have always been kind, generous, and a joy to work with. We mourn his loss.
Maurice Jennings has passed away
He was a superb architect and a fine gentleman.
Paul Harding FAIA Restoration Architect for FLW's 1901 E. Arthur Davenport House, 1941 Lloyd Lewis House, 1952 Glore House | www.harding.com | LinkedIn
Thought I would share a few anecdotes from Maurice Jennings’ memorial service this past Friday.
The service took place at the Hunt Chapel in Rogers, AR. The Hunt Chapel was the final project that Maurice and his son Walter designed together, and the place was packed—standing room only. One of the speaker was an executive from Powell Gardens, which has numerous buildings designed by Fay Jones and Maurice’s firm. The executive talked about what a pleasure it was to work with Maurice—how open he was to suggestions, and how quick to give credit when that suggestion helped improve the project. As an example, the speaker recalled a conversation about choosing glass for the chapel’s sconces. Maurice described the kind of glass that he wanted, and the glass supplier looked through a sample book with dozens of samples, choosing one. Maurice, gesturing to the samples, asked, “Can I take a look at those?� After about 10 minutes of looking through the samples, Maurice turned to the salesman and said, “Why didn’t you tell me you had already picked the exact perfect choice?�
Open to suggestions up to a certain point, that is. The speaker noted that whenever a question or suggestion crossed that certain point, Maurice would pause, lean back in his chair, and say, “I don’t believe that would fit with the architectural intention.�
One of those moments came when a builder, let’s call him Tom, insisted that an educational building had to have gutters. “Maurice,� Tom said, “Without gutters, the rain will just roll down people’s backs whenever they leave the building.� “Well,� Maurice responded, “You know Tom, folks in Arkansas know better than to go outside when it’s raining.�
But the contractor wasn’t beat yet. And at the next meeting to review details and choose finishes, the contractor arrived early, and set a five foot long length of gutter in the middle of the table. Maurice arrived, the meeting started, and no one said anything about the gutter. The conversation just proceeded as if it wasn’t there. Finally the builder couldn’t stand it, and blurted out, “Maurice, what do you think of my gutter sample?!?� Maurice looked at the gutter, and then turned to the contractor: “Why Tom, I didn’t know you were the kind of contractor who built ugly buildings.�
The building was completed without gutters.
RIP Maurice.
The service took place at the Hunt Chapel in Rogers, AR. The Hunt Chapel was the final project that Maurice and his son Walter designed together, and the place was packed—standing room only. One of the speaker was an executive from Powell Gardens, which has numerous buildings designed by Fay Jones and Maurice’s firm. The executive talked about what a pleasure it was to work with Maurice—how open he was to suggestions, and how quick to give credit when that suggestion helped improve the project. As an example, the speaker recalled a conversation about choosing glass for the chapel’s sconces. Maurice described the kind of glass that he wanted, and the glass supplier looked through a sample book with dozens of samples, choosing one. Maurice, gesturing to the samples, asked, “Can I take a look at those?� After about 10 minutes of looking through the samples, Maurice turned to the salesman and said, “Why didn’t you tell me you had already picked the exact perfect choice?�
Open to suggestions up to a certain point, that is. The speaker noted that whenever a question or suggestion crossed that certain point, Maurice would pause, lean back in his chair, and say, “I don’t believe that would fit with the architectural intention.�
One of those moments came when a builder, let’s call him Tom, insisted that an educational building had to have gutters. “Maurice,� Tom said, “Without gutters, the rain will just roll down people’s backs whenever they leave the building.� “Well,� Maurice responded, “You know Tom, folks in Arkansas know better than to go outside when it’s raining.�
But the contractor wasn’t beat yet. And at the next meeting to review details and choose finishes, the contractor arrived early, and set a five foot long length of gutter in the middle of the table. Maurice arrived, the meeting started, and no one said anything about the gutter. The conversation just proceeded as if it wasn’t there. Finally the builder couldn’t stand it, and blurted out, “Maurice, what do you think of my gutter sample?!?� Maurice looked at the gutter, and then turned to the contractor: “Why Tom, I didn’t know you were the kind of contractor who built ugly buildings.�
The building was completed without gutters.
RIP Maurice.