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The 10.6 acre chapel site has been transformed into a picturesque landscape of
gardens, groves and colorful terraces with the planting of approximately 90
trees that include oak, jacaranda, sycamore and pepper.
The chapel's surrounding
churchyard features a reception garden and exclusive burial property which will
include the use of the upright monuments. A variety of memorialization options
is available throughout the area; some sections will be reserved for exclusive
family interment sites. SkyRose is the largest chapel Fay Jones and Maurice
Jennings have designed to date.
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The chapel is
constructed of fir, Oregon redwood , bouquet canyon stone and glass and
combines the beauty of Jones' unique inverse Gothic architecture with
spectacular scenic views to create a site for funerals and other celebrations
that are remembered and shared. Three levels make up the chapel- the mausoleum
(11,200 square feet) is on the lower level, with approximately 942 crypts and
556 niches, the sanctuary (11,500 square feet) is on the ground floor with 332
fixed seats and the availability to add seats as needed and the triforium on
the upper level (3,790 square feet). The roof's steep approximately 45-degree
pitch and the building's height, 90 feet at its peak, made construction
difficult and dangerous. Another difficult challenge was installing the
chapel's skylight along the roof's ridge, which measures 24 feet wide by 105
feet long. One of the finishing touches to the chapel was the addition of a
pipe organ which was custom built for SkyRose. The organ consists of 3,937
pipes ranging in height from four inches to thirty-two feet.
Fay Jones, who has had
more that 200 projects to his credit designed only six chapels prior to
SkyRose. His first chapel Thorncrown, was built in 1980 in Eureka Springs,
Arkansas, and was selected in 1991 from among all the buildings built in the
country since 1980 as the best by the American Institue of Architects.
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