Architecture as Aesthetics: Fallingwater

Fallingwater

1491 Mill Run Road (Route 381 South)

Bear Run

Pennsylvania 15464

Frank Lloyd Wright 1936

"There in a beautiful forest was a solid, high rock ledge rising beside a waterfall, and the natural thing seemed to be to cantilever the house from that rock bank over the falling water..."
_{-- Frank Lloyd Wright in an interview with
Hugh Downs, 1954}

Fallingwater, the residential masterpiece of great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was designed in 1936 for the family of Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann. Considered by some as the most famous private house ever built, Fallingwater epitomizes man living in harmony with nature. The house, set amid 5000 acres of natural wilderness, is constructed of local sandstone, reinforced concrete, steel and glass. It juts out over a waterfall on Bear Run, appearing as naturally formed as the rocks, trees and rhododendrons which embrace it. The interior of Fallingwater remains true to Frank Lloyd Wright's vision as well, including cantilevered desks, earth-toned built-in sofas, polished stone floors, and large casement windows which allow the outdoors to pour in. The hearth of the soaring stone fireplace is actually a boulder on the hill, supposedly Mr. Kaufmann's favorite sunning spot before Fallingwater was built - the house was literally built around it. From the Great Room a set of stairs enables you to walk down and stand on a tiny platform in the middle of the stream. Fallingwater was the weekend home of the Kaufmann family from 1937 until 1963, when the property was donated to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy by Edgar Kaufmann Jr. It still looks as it did when the family lived there - the only remaining great Wright house with its setting, original furnishings and art work intact. Designated as a National Historic Landmark, Fallingwater was also named by the American Institute of Architects in 2000 as the "Building of the Century." Cantilevered out over a waterfall in rhodondendron woods about two hours east of Pittsburgh, it was built as a weekend home for Edgar J. Kaufmann, who made his money through the (still existing) Kaufmann department store in Pittsburgh. Fallingwater dramatically combines Wright's vision of 'organic' architecture with his engineering skills in cantilevering. Wright's choice of the building's position within the site, and design of the overhanging building, allow the inhabitants to 'live with the waterfall', rather than simply look at it. To achieve this result the house is constructed of cantilevered planes, built in reinforced concrete. The planes are anchored into the rock of the hillside and pinned down by the massive stone chimney and walls at the back of the house. A light curtain of glazing divides the planes between spacious interior living spaces and outside balconies. Wright exploits the lack of need for structural support in the glazed walls by omitting even a glazing bar in the corners of the windows, emphasizing the continuity between the inside of the house and the woods around. Inside, the main living floor is a large, continuous space, an extraordinarily impressive room with defined entry, living and dining areas. Upstairs are small but well-lit bedrooms opening onto another layer of balconies. The interior of the house remains just as the Kaufmanns lived in it, with furniture that Wright designed for the house mixed often incongruously with other pieces the Kaufmanns bought themselves. The story of Fallingwater (as told exhaustively by the tour guides) is a story of the strong wills of both architect and client, whose obvious respect for each other is matched only by each man's expectation of getting his own way. The result is a stunning house, both in its overall form and the details of shelving, glazing, fixtures and furniture in each room. It is simply well worth traveling across the world to see.