A Visit to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater
National Historic Landmark Fallingwater is in Bear Run, Pennsylvania
May 8, 2009
In the process, he created one of the world's most celebrated homes. Wright's audacious plan stretched the limits of construction at that time. Yet in 1936, Edgar J. Kaufmann, a Pittsburgh department store tycoon who appreciated bold ideas, allowed the 71 year-old Wright to start work with few changes to his innovative design. A tour of this iconic masterpiece is a reminder that it was originally built as a family retreat.
Floating Terraces in Bear Run Nature Reserve
The waterfall can be heard before the house is even visible. Walk further along the gravel path and sand coloured terraces appear. They seem to float amidst the surrounding foliage until layered stone towers and anchoring walls come into view. When the entire building emerges, introduced by a cantilevered balcony and a flight of stairs that opens to the brook below, the rushing water reaches a full crescendo.
The Waterfall in the Living Room
The entry to Fallingwater is small and dim. Climb a few steps to reach a large open living area. Low ceilings are painted off-white, the same shade as the seat cushions on elongated built-in benches. Vibrant red, orange and ochre pillows add welcoming bursts of colour.
Long banks of windows direct the visitor's gaze outward to the leafy green canopy. In the corner, a sliding glass skylight covers the stairs that lead down to the run. The sound of the waterfall fills the room.
Wright used the word organic to define his philosophy. He meant it as a term of respect for the site, for the design and function of the structure and for the building materials.
At Fallingwater Wright seamlessly employs reinforced concrete, stone, glass and steel indoors and out. Interior stone walls wrap around a corner and continue outside. Windows are frameless, their edges tucked into a caulked recess in the stone. Rippled flagstone quarried on the property runs from floors to terraces without a threshold to break the flow.
The Organic Ideals of Frank Lloyd Wright
A massive fireplace fills the dining room wall. Three large flat boulders, part of the rock formation beneath the house, surface from the hearth to create an inviting perch. An enormous round red kettle is tucked into an alcove carved into the stone face.
Artwork and Bedrooms in Fallingwater
Eclectic artwork, from Chinese porcelain figures to a wooden Renaissance Madonna coexists happily beside vases of cut flowers. Unlike many historic homes where preservation is paramount, the upholstery here is replaced when it starts to fade. The house feels both fresh and lived in.
Narrow hallways and staircases lead to bedrooms, each with their own fireplace, bathroom and terrace. A silver Art Deco water pitcher sits on a night table while a plaid blanket is neatly folded on a simple scarlet bedspread. Stone, glass and concrete also unite these rooms although the setting is surprisingly cozy.
Fallingwater's Elaborate Engineering
The enigma of Fallingwater is not only its design but its technicality. Wright daringly pushed the accepted boundaries of engineering. He used three kinds of cantilevering - extension from an anchorage, counterbalancing and loaded extension - to allow terraces and balconies to stretch out into nature.
Edgar Kaufmann's Gift to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
Even though Fallingwater was built as a weekend home for his parents, Edgar Kaufmann, jr. recognized its cultural significance. He entrusted the house, its contents and 500 acres to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963. Since then the conservancy has funded millions of dollars in repairs and restoration to this National Historic Landmark. It has also added another 4500 acres to the Bear Run Nature Reserve, protecting both the house and the falling water that made it famous.
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