fallingwater, a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Israel Feldbrand

ARH 641_Arch. History 3

Susan Sutton

Assignment 8.1

FallingwaterFallingwater ( Kaufmann Residence) is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, in 1935, and built in a remote site in Southwestern Pennsylvania in an area called Bear Run. The house was built for Edgar Kaufmann, Sr., a successful Pittsburgh businessman. The house has been called the “ best all- time work of American architecture” by the American Institute of Architects.

The Kaufmann family owned a rural retreat outside Pittsburgh that had a stream with a 30 foot waterfall on it. In November, 1934, Wright visited the site and ordered a typographical survey of the property showing the trees, stream, and large boulders on the site. Kaufmann had asked Wright to design a house that would incorporate the view of the waterfall, his favorite aspect of the Bear Run property.

Wright would envision a house that would not sit ‘ on ‘ the site but be a part ‘ of ‘ the site, a home that would be built into the waterfall and not merely look upon it… an organic building. Wright sought to create a building that would be an accompaniment to the music of the stream.

Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture that promotes integration between the human environment and the natural world through building design that is sympathetic and integrates the building with the site. The building, furnishings and surroundings become integrated as a whole composition. Frank Lloyd Wright coined the term organic architecture:

“ So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture:

declaring organic architecture to be the modern ideal and the

teaching so much needed if we are to see the whole of life,

holding no traditions essential to the great tradition. Nor

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cherishing any preconceived form fixing upon us either past,

present or future, but instead exalting the simple laws of common

sense or of super-sense, if you prefer, determining form by the way

of materials…” ( p.3, Wright).

Frank Lloyd Wright incorporated and translated organic architecture into all aspects of his design for Fallingwater; materials, motifs and ordering principles repeat themselves throughout the building, it is designed as a unified organism.

Wright’s admiration for Japanese architecture was important in his inspiration for this house. Just like in Japanese architecture, Wright wanted to create a harmony between man and nature and his integration of the house with the waterfall was successful. The house compliments the site and does not compete with the drama of the waterfall and the sound of the water throughout the house. The design for Fallingwater reflects the Japanese ideal of interpenetrating the interior and exterior spaces through the use of glass and indigenious materials.

Wright designed a three story structure that was to be built into the stream bank at the waterfall. The building is massed as a series of horizontal planes with a vertical element that serves to anchor the building planes and also serves as a chimney. Wright used cantilevers throughout the design that make the building surfaces appear to float in space. All of these features enforce the unity of the building with site.

The house consists of three primary building materials: stone, glass and concrete. The stone used in the house was quarried on the site and this allows the house to be in visual harmony with the natural stonework. Wright incorporated large boulders, that he had surveyed, into the living room fireplace hearth. The use of reinforced concrete gave Wright the ability to cantilever the balconies of the house as very narrow visual ribbons giving the house the illusion of lightness. Wright used clear glass in the house to bring the outside in. The glass glazing dies into the stonework without the use of mullions, a visual trick that makes the stone walls appear uninterrupted by the glazing. From the cantilevered living room, a stairway leads down to the stream below.

Through his expert use of massing, form and materials, Wright created a house that is a symphony. Falling water is listed by the Smithsonian as one of the 28 places to visit before you die. Fallinwater embodies the ideals of organic architecture and is, perhaps, the greatest example.

Fallinwater:

References-

Wright, Frank Lloyd. The Natural House. Bramhall House, New York. ( 1954).

Toker, Frank. Fallingwater Rising: Frank Lloyd Wright, E.J. Kaufmann and America’s Most Extraordinary House.” Putnam House. ( 1964).