On the way to New Orleans from Mississippi, my pal Stephen took a detour to show me the Pinecote Pavilion at the Crosby Arboretum in Picayune. Pinecote was designed by E. Fay Jones, an Arkansas modernist architect who was an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright. His work is said to have a Wrightian feel, and he often used materials that reflected their surroundings. Pinecote, an open air pavilion that he described as an "asymmetrical shed," seems to float on the water while blending harmoniously into the surrounding trees. As the sun moves over the course of the day, so do patterns created by light and shadow interplaying with the elements of the building. It is most impressive when illuminated at night, but unfortunately not open to the public then. Seeing such a brilliant piece of architecture in the middle of Mississippi was a pleasant surprise, but I'm learning its apparently not as rare as you might think.
