Fallingwater
Fallingwater | |
---|---|
Location | Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Nearest city | Uniontown |
Coordinates | 39°54′22″N 79°28′5″W / 39.90611°N 79.46806°W |
Built | 1936–1939 |
Architect | Frank Lloyd Wright |
Architectural style(s) | Modern architecture |
Visitors | about 160,000 (in 2010s) |
Governing body | Western Pennsylvania Conservancy |
Criteria | Cultural: (ii) |
Designated | 2019 (43rd session) |
Part of | The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright |
Reference no. | 1496-005 |
Region | Europe and North America |
Designated | July 23, 1974[1] |
Reference no. | 74001781[1] |
Designated | May 23, 1966[2] |
Designated | May 15, 1994[3] |
Fallingwater is a house museum in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Pennsylvania, United States, designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935. Situated in the Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania, it is built partly over a waterfall on the Bear Run stream. The house was developed as a weekend retreat for Liliane and Edgar J. Kaufmann, the owner of Pittsburgh's Kaufmann's Department Store. The original house was completed in 1937, and a guest annex was completed in 1939. The Kaufmanns' son, Edgar Kaufmann Jr., deeded the house in 1963 to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which continues to operate it as a tourist attraction. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy also maintains the 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) site surrounding the house.
The three-story residence sits above a waterfall and contains multiple outdoor terraces, which are cantilevered from a chimney. Wright built Fallingwater out of stone from nearby quarries, in addition to reinforced concrete, steel, and plate glass. The first story contains the main entrance, the living room (which is cantilevered above the waterfall), two outdoor terraces, and the kitchen. There are three bedrooms and additional terraces on the upper stories. Wright designed most of the house's built-in furniture, including many pieces of black-walnut furnishings. On the hillside above the main house is a four-bay carport, servants' quarters, and a guest house.
The house has received architectural commentary over the years, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark. Fallingwater was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2019 as part of a group of eight listings known as "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright".
Site
[edit]Fallingwater is situated in Stewart Township in the Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania, United States,[4] about 72 miles (116 km) southeast of Pittsburgh.[5][6] The house is located near Pennsylvania Route 381 (PA 381),[7][8] between the communities of Ohiopyle and Mill Run in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.[8] It is variously cited as being either in Mill Run itself or on Bear Run, the stream that runs below it.[9] Nearby are the Bear Run Natural Area to the north, as well as Ohiopyle State Park to the south.[10][11] The nearest city is Uniontown, Pennsylvania, to the west.[7] Fallingwater is one of four buildings in southwestern Pennsylvania designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The others are Kentuck Knob, about 7 miles (11 km) to the southwest,[12] as well as Duncan House and Lindholm House at Polymath Park in Acme, Pennsylvania.[13][14]
The main house sits above a set of waterfalls on Bear Run.[8] There are two waterfalls on the grounds: an upper falls about 20 feet (6.1 m) high, where the house is situated, and a lower falls about 10 feet (3.0 m) high, downstream from the house.[8] Where it runs beneath the house, Bear Run is 1,298 feet (396 m) above sea level.[15][16] There is a layer of buff and gray sandstone under the site, which is part of the Pottsville Formation. Prior to Fallingwater's construction, several sandstone boulders were scattered across the grounds, particularly on the north side of Bear Run.[17]
In the 1890s, a freemasonry group from Pittsburgh developed a country club on a plot of land that includes the Fallingwater site. By 1909, this clubhouse had been acquired by another group of masons who turned it into the Syria Country Club.[18] A map from 1913 shows that the grounds included the clubhouse, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Bear Run station, and 13 other buildings (none of which are extant). The clubhouse was about 1,100 feet (340 m) southeast of Fallingwater's site, and the train station was further downhill. The 13 other structures included a cottage, which occupied the site of Fallingwater's guest wing.[19]
Use as house
[edit]Fallingwater was built for Edgar J. Kaufmann, a Pittsburgh businessman and the president of Kaufmann's Department Store, and his wife Liliane Kaufmann.[18] By 1916, Edgar Kaufmann had established a summer retreat for his employees at Bear Run; the employees eventually bought the 1,598.7-acre (647.0 ha) site in 1926. The Kaufmanns built a simple summer cabin on the grounds in 1922, which was nicknamed "Hangover" because it sat atop a cliff. The cabin, which was expanded in 1931, originally had no electricity, plumbing, or heating.[20] The Kaufmanns lived in La Tourelle, a French Norman estate in Fox Chapel designed in 1923 by Pittsburgh architect Benno Janssen.[21]
Kaufmann's Department Store employees stopped using the summer retreat in the 1930s.[22][23] The Kaufmann family bought the site in July 1933, expanding their holdings to 1,914 acres (775 ha).[23] Edgar and Liliane became familiar with Wright's work through their only child, Edgar Kaufmann Jr..[24][a] The younger Edgar Kaufmann had studied in Europe under the artist Victor Hammer from 1930 to 1933.[25][26] After returning to the United States, in mid-1934, Edgar Jr. read the architect Frank Lloyd Wright's 1932 autography and traveled to Wright's Taliesin studio in Wisconsin in late September.[27][28] Within three weeks, Edgar Jr. began an apprenticeship at the Taliesin Fellowship, a communal architecture program established by Wright and his wife, Olgivanna.[29] It was during a visit with their son at Taliesin in November 1934 that Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann first met Wright.[29][30]
Planning
[edit]Wright commission and site surveys
[edit]At his son's urging, Edgar Kaufmann spoke with Wright about the possibility of designing several structures, including a planetarium, a building for Kaufmann's Department Store, and later a country house at Bear Run.[29][30][31] Fallingwater was one of three major buildings that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in the 1930s; the other two were the Johnson Wax Building in Racine, Wisconsin, and Herbert Jacobs's first house in Madison, Wisconsin.[32] When Wright was hired as Fallingwater's architect in late 1934, he was 67 years old, and his contemporaries did not hold his designs in high esteem.[10][28] Furthermore, Wright had designed only two buildings in the previous six years.[28][33]
The Kaufmanns wanted Wright to design a building that was set further back from PA 381, which had seen an increasing amount of traffic over the years. In late December 1934, Wright visited Bear Run and asked for a survey of the area around the waterfall.[35] Subsequently, Wright's team temporarily relocated to Chandler, Arizona, for the winter so they could draw up models of the house and site.[35][36] An engineering map of the site's boulders, trees, and topography was completed and forwarded to Wright on March 9, 1935.[35] At that point, Wright's fellows had concentrated nearly all their efforts on the design of Kaufmann's country lodge. They created models of Kaufmann's proposed buildings, which were exhibited at New York City's Rockefeller Center in April 1935. Kaufmann and Wright met regularly for several months afterward.[37]
Preliminary plans
[edit]The Kaufmanns asked Wright to include a large living–dining space in their country house. They also wanted the house to include at least three bedrooms, a dressing room, and a guest and servant wing.[35][38] Kaufmann specified that he wanted to pay between $20,000 and $30,000 for the house's construction.[39][40] Wright's apprentices Edgar Tafel and Robert Mosher were the most heavily involved in the building's design,[41][42] while his employees Mendel Glickman and William Wesley Peters were the structural engineers.[41][43] Wright started working on plans for Kaufmann's Pittsburgh office first, postponing his sketches for Kaufmann's country home.[39] When Kaufmann visited Milwaukee on September 22, 1935, he was eager to review plans for his house.[39][44] After Kaufmann called to notify Wright that he would be visiting, Wright drew up the plans in two hours.[44][42] Contrary to common claims that Wright had ignored the design during the nine preceding months, he had already devised the plans mentally but had refused to sketch then out in physical form.[39][40][45]
Wright designed a cantilevered structure that included all the rooms that Kaufmann wanted.[38][46] The house was to be placed on Bear Run's northern bank, oriented so that every room would receive natural light at some point throughout the day. It also included terraces that resembled the rock ledges on the property.[46] Kaufmann had expected that the house would be downstream from Bear Run's waterfalls, allowing the Kaufmann family to see the cascades.[47] However, instead Wright designed the home above the waterfall;[48][49] as he explained to Edgar Kaufmann: "I want you to live with the waterfall, not to look at it."[42][50] Kaufmann was allegedly initially very upset with this change,[38] but the family ultimately came to accept the design as it was.[33] Wright also suggested covering the exteriors with gold leaf;[51][52] sources disagree on whether Wright had made his suggestion jokingly[33] or whether he had really wanted the house to be gilded.[53] In either case, Kaufmann hired a gold-leaf contractor, who rejected the idea,[33] and Wright decided to use a shade of ocher after picking up a dried rhododendron leaf.[53] Wright sent preliminary plans to Kaufmann for approval on October 15, 1935, after which Wright visited the site again.[54][55] In December 1935, an old rock quarry was reopened to the west of the site to provide stone for the house.[54][55]
Final plans
[edit]Wright's team had created detailed drawings by January 1936;[56][57] the final plans were largely unchanged from the initial sketches.[57][58] The next month, Wright's team sent the plans to Kaufmann for review, and workers began building a sample wall for the house.[59] Kaufmann asked engineers in Pittsburgh to review the blueprints, as the cantilevered design was highly experimental.[57][54] The engineers created two reports: one about the site's geology and the other that recommended against constructing a building on the site.[60] Upon receiving these reports, Wright ordered that the reports be locked in the house's cornerstone[54][61] (they were instead sealed in one of the walls).[60][61]
Wright seldom spent time at the site, returning only once every four to six weeks;[62] instead, he appointed Mosher as his on-site representative.[54] By May 1936, the house's construction was behind schedule; for instance, plans for an access bridge across Bear Run had not been completed. The plans were revised in late May, and Wright hired Walter J. Hall, a contractor from northern Pennsylvania, to work on the house.[43] During a visit to the site shortly afterward, Mosher inquired where the main level of the house would be located; at the time, there were four boulders on Bear Run's northern bank.[62][63] Wright sent Mosher to the top of one boulder, told him that the answer was beneath his feet, and left.[62]
Construction
[edit]During the house's development, Edgar Kaufmann wrote that he constantly thought about the house, "which has become part of me and a part of my life".[33] Edgar Jr. was heavily involved with the project and oversaw correspondence between his father and Wright.[64] Work was carried out by local laborers[65] and was characterized by conflicts between Wright, Kaufmann, and the contractors.[54] Wright, who was famously stubborn, prioritized the house's esthetics over any structural concerns.[66]
Hall had argued for increasing the reinforcing steel in the first floor's cantilevered terrace.[67] Wright refused the suggestion, since he believed the extra steel would cause the slab to collapse,[68] but the reinforcement was increased anyway.[67][68] There was speculation over the years that the steel contractor Metzger-Richardson,[67] rather than Kaufmann's consulting engineers, was responsible for the increased reinforcement.[54] When Wright heard about the increased reinforcement, he wrote angrily to Kaufmann: "I have put so much more into this house than you or any other client has a right to expect, that if I don't have your confidence—to hell with the whole thing".[6][68][69] Despite Kaufmann's expressions of confidence in Wright's work, the extra steel remained in place; had the steel been removed the terraces may have collapsed.[6][66][68]
In addition, the contractor did not build in a slight upward incline in the formwork for the cantilever to compensate for its settling and deflection.[70][71] Once the formwork was removed, the cantilever developed a noticeable sag,[70][68] sinking about 1.75 inches (4.4 cm).[68] When Mosher contacted Glickman about the sag, the latter reportedly realized that he had forgotten to add enough steel reinforcement to counteract the compressive forces of the concrete beams.[68] Upon learning of the unapproved steel addition, Wright recalled Mosher.[70] With Kaufmann's approval, the consulting engineers installed a wall under the main supporting beam for the west terrace. When Wright discovered it on a site visit, he had Mosher discreetly remove the top course of stones. When Kaufmann later confessed to what had been done, Wright showed him what Mosher had done and pointed out that the cantilever had held up for the past month under test loads without the wall's support.[72] After the formwork was removed from the second-story terrace, the parapet cracked at two locations, prompting Metzger-Richardson to suggest that columns be installed in the streambed to support the terrace. Wright rejected the suggestion, as did Kaufmann.[73] Despite subsequent repairs to the parapet, the cracks periodically reappeared.[71]
Naming, completion, and cost
[edit]The "Fallingwater" name originated with Wright.[50][74] He first used the name in late 1937 while writing an article on his career, which appeared in the January 1938 Architectural Forum. Until that time it had been referred to on Wright's drawings and in correspondence as the E. J. Kaufmann Residence or E. J. Kaufmann House, the names used in publications covering the house's construction. The new name immediately became popular, and was amplified by a 1938 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and in Henry Luce's popular magazines Time and Life. The Kaufmanns, who reportedly disliked the name, did not use it.[74] The main house was completed in 1938, and the guest house was completed the following year.[75]
Fallingwater exceeded its budget significantly.[76] The final cost for the home and guest house was $155,000 (equivalent to about $2.7 million in 2023),[77][78][79] which included $75,000 for the house; $22,000 for finishings and furnishings; and $50,000 for the guest house, garage, and servants' quarters.[80] The cost overruns extended to smaller details like the bridge leading to the front door, which was budget at $2,500 but cost $30,000.[76] The Kaufmanns paid Wright $8,000, five percent of the house's construction cost;[53][80] this was one-third the usual commission that Wright charged.[53] The total cost was nearly four times Kaufmann's original $40,000 budget for the house, which in turn was ten times the average cost of a four-bedroom house in Pennsylvania at the time.[8] From 1938 through 1941, more than $22,000 was spent on additional details and for changes in the hardware and lighting.[80] After completing Fallingwater, Wright designed 200 additional structures.[13]
Kaufmann usage
[edit]Fallingwater was the Kaufmann family's weekend home for 26 years. The family traveled to the estate by taking the train to the Bear Run station, where a chauffeur drove them to the house.[22] The family retreated to Fallingwater on weekends to escape the heat and smoke of industrial Pittsburgh. Liliane enjoyed swimming in the nude and collecting modern art, especially the works of Diego Rivera, who was a guest at the country house.[81] Liliane originally did not like her bedroom's modern design but, upon some urging from her son, came to appreciate it.[82]
[Wright] understood that people were creatures of nature, hence an architecture which conformed to nature would conform to what was basic in people. For example, although all of Falling Water [sic] is opened by broad bands of windows, people inside are sheltered as in a deep cave, secure in the sense of the hill behind them.
— Edgar Kaufmann Jr.[83]
Fallingwater had shown signs of deterioration ever since its construction, particularly regarding the cantilevered terraces.[5] When the Kaufmanns moved in, the house was leaking in 50 places, although the Kaufmanns did not express their concerns about the leaks to Wright.[10] A more pressing matter was the structural problems of Fallingwater's terraces. Concerned about the terraces' condition, Kaufmann hired a surveyor in 1941 to survey the terraces and record the severity of their sagging. The house's terraces were surveyed annually for the next fourteen years.[84][85]
Liliane used the house until she died there of a drug overdose in 1952. Edgar Kaufmann, who subsequently remarried, did not outlive Liliane by much longer: He died in 1955 and was buried on the grounds.[86] Edgar Jr. inherited Fallingwater after his father's death, continuing to use it as a weekend retreat until 1963.[78][56] The younger Edgar discontinued Fallingwater's annual structural surveys, since he thought the terraces had stopped sagging.[87] Edgar Kaufmann Jr. also agreed to donate the house to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) at some point in the future. By then, the sagging terraces had caused the window frames to warp, and the family hired engineers to add supports to the terraces, repair the roof, and rebuild the staircase between the living room and Bear Run.[56]
Use as museum
[edit]1960s and 1970s
[edit]Increasingly concerned with ensuring Fallingwater's preservation and following his father's wishes, Edgar Kaufmann Jr. entrusted the home and approximately 1,500 acres (610 ha) of land to the WPC in October 1963.[56] Fallingwater was subsequently turned into a house museum.[88][71] In accordance with Kaufmann's request, the WPC attempted to recreate the house's original condition as much as possible. This included setting the dining tables and beds, opening the closets, and placing toilet paper and soap in the bathrooms to give the appearance that the Kaufmanns were still living there.[10] Visitors were allowed into most of the house's rooms.[10][89] Edgar Jr. remained involved with the WPC and Fallingwater until his death in 1989.[90][89] In subsequent years, the original 1,500-acre bequest was expanded to 5,000 acres (2,000 ha).[86]
1980s and 1990s
[edit]Edgar Jr.'s partner, the architect and designer Paul Mayén, designed a visitor center for the house, which was completed in 1981.[91] Lynda Waggoner was appointed as the house's director in 1985.[90] During the 1980s and 1990s, the WPC spent tens of thousands of dollars to upgrade security, restore the wood, and replace the window panes.[88] Conservators also consulted the house's original contractors while carrying out assorted restoration work.[92]
By the late 1980s, acid rain and repeated thawing and freezing had caused deterioration.[93][94] Even though all but a dozen leaks had been repaired through the years, laborers were employed throughout the year specifically to clear rain and snow from the terraces and roof.[88] In addition, the ends of Fallingwater's cantilevered terraces had sagged by 7 inches (180 mm),[6][95] causing the terraces to tilt by about two degrees.[85] The site was permanently humid throughout the year because the house was placed over the waterfall.[96] In 1992, the WPC hired John Seekircher to fix the glass hatch in the living room, which had not been opened in two decades.[97] Waggoner also planned to repaint the house, which was complicated by the fact that workers could not allow paint chips to fall into Bear Run due to strict environmental regulations.[88]
1990s and 2000s renovations
[edit]Temporary girders
[edit]An engineering student, John Paul Huguley, first identified issues with the terraces in the mid-1990s,[50][69] upon which he notified the WPC of his findings.[98] The organization commissioned a study of the site's structural integrity in 1995, which found that the cantilevers were insufficiently reinforced and that the concrete and its steel reinforcement were both close to failing.[99] The engineer Robert Silman was hired to assess the conditions of the cantilevers and design a permanent fix.[85][100][101] Silman's company first added sensors and used radar to detect structural issues, and they confirmed that the cracks in the terraces were growing.[68][102] The WPC's CEO, Larry Schweiger, said the terraces were not in danger of immediate collapse but that they were still structurally unsound.[101]
Workers installed temporary girders in 1997[85][100] at a cost of $140,000.[103] The girders did not carry any weight; instead, they were intended to help relieve stresses on the cantilevers.[104] The WPC cut out a section of the house's floor,[85][105] and the living room's sofa was also removed to accommodate the girders.[87][106] A glass light opening was installed on the floor, enabling visitors to observe the damaged beams.[107] Several stone plugs were carved out of Bear Run's streambed to create holes for the girders' footings; the plugs were to be placed back into the streambed once the girders had been removed.[103] The stream was rerouted to allow crews to access the terraces,[106] and two of the terraces were closed off while these repairs were made.[71]
Restoration
[edit]The engineering firm Wank Adams Slavin Associates was hired to design a wider-ranging restoration of the house.[108] Silman devised plans to repair the structure permanently by post-tensioning the slabs, which involved pulling high-strength steel cables through the beams.[105][109] The idea of jacking up the house was deemed infeasible because it would have exacerbated cracks in the structure.[104] In early 1999, a panel of engineers and architects endorsed Silman's proposal.[108][109] The same year, the WPC began raising $6 million for permanent structural repairs;[71][85][104] the conservancy had already spent $440,000 to date.[101] The WPC also discussed the structural issues with engineers, historians, and architects from around the world, including Wright's grandson Eric.[69] The work was postponed by two years while the WPC raised money.[6][107] The Getty Foundation provided the WPC with a $70,000 grant to investigate the structural issues.[71] Fallingwater also received approximately $900,000 for structural repairs in mid-1999 through the federal Save America's Treasures program.[65][110] Governor Tom Ridge subsequently provided $3.5 million for the house's renovation in 2000,[111][112] while private donors provided another $7.2 million.[113]
Work began in late 2001, at which point the cost of restoration was estimated at $11.5 million.[6][107][114] The living-room floors were removed for repairs, and contractors poured concrete blocks on both ends of each beam.[98][102] Five large cables next to the beams, and six smaller cables next to the joists, were threaded through these blocks.[98] The cables were then tightened using hydraulic jacks over a three-day period.[115] The post-tensioning was not intended to straighten out the terraces, as that would have broken the windows,[116] but rather to prevent the terraces from sagging further.[50][117] The outer end of the first-floor terrace was raised by approximately 0.5 inches (13 mm).[115][118] The post-tensioning process cost about $4 million[6][116] and was completed in six months.[50][98] After the post-tensioning was completed, the terraces largely stopped sagging.[94]
The WPC also planned to strengthen one of the upper-level terraces using carbon fiber, rebuilding the staircase from the living room to Bear Run, and repairing water damage.[112][102] Pamela Jerome of Wank Adams Slavin drew up plans for the installation of roof membranes to improve drainage.[119][109] Due to acid rain and emissions from a coal-fired power station nearby, the exterior also had to be repainted.[117] Workers relocated some outbuildings to give Fallingwater a more secluded appearance, and they replaced the visitor center's sewage system.[6][107] Signage, paths, and landscape features were rehabilitated as well.[107][120] The house was connected to a municipal water system for the first time; prior to this, Fallingwater had been receiving water from trucks.[120] Visitation increased as a result of the renovations,[117] which were largely completed in 2003.[115][117] In addition, Fallingwater received $100,000 for landscaping in late 2003.[121] The next year, the entrance roadways were reconfigured,[122] and the new sewage system was finished.[123]
Mid-2000s to present
[edit]After the renovation was completed in 2005,[124] the WPC began removing invasive species from the Fallingwater grounds that year.[125][126] In 2018, Justin W. Gunther was appointed as Fallingwater's director, replacing Waggoner.[127] The house was temporarily closed between March and June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania. When it reopened, only the outdoor spaces were initially open for self-guided tours.[128][129] That September, the Pennsylvania government gave Fallingwater nearly $240,000 to offset financial losses from the pandemic.[129]
Architecture
[edit]Fallingwater has been described as an architectural tour de force of Wright's organic architecture.[130] The building also includes Japanese architectural details because of Wright's love of Japanese architecture. Contemporary Japanese architect Tadao Ando has said of the house:[131]
I think Wright learned the most important aspect of architecture, the treatment of space, from Japanese architecture. When I visited Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, I found that same sensibility of space. But there was the additional sounds of nature that appealed to me.[131]
In designing the building, Wright had sought to eliminate the distinction between the exterior and interior, using the same materials indoors and outdoors.[8][132] Wright, who saw the house as "an extension of a natural cliff",[132] planned to have the house blend into its natural setting.[133] He built Fallingwater out of sandstone from nearby quarries,[134] in addition to reinforced concrete, steel, and plate glass.[10][34] The concrete—a mixture of sand, cement, and gravel from the streambed—deteriorated over the years due to poor adhesion.[135] All the woodwork in the house is made of black walnut from North Carolina.[33][34]
Exterior
[edit]The house is three stories high.[15][132] Wright limited his palette to gray for the sandstone, a light-ocher "dead rhododendron" color for the concrete, and red for the steel.[33][136] Red was used because Wright believed that the hue was "invincible";[37][137] although the color was originally described as Venetian red, it was changed to Cherokee red in the 1970s.[138] Some of the house's corners have windows that open inward[139] and lack vertical mullions.[34][140] There are also windows with metal casings,[139] which are painted Cherokee red.[10][34] The roof has rolled edges[140] and is covered with beige gravel, blending in with the color of the facade.[52] The northern facade of the house contains masonry walls with setbacks; the wall's design was intended to replicate the textures of the cliff next to it.[141]
The house is accessed by a 28-foot-long (8.5 m) bridge across Bear Run,[63] with reinforced-concrete balustrades.[51] At either end of each balustrade is a planter made of rough stone, which was intended to contrast with the smooth concrete used in the balustrades.[51] There is a rectangular concrete panel at the middle of the bridge deck, with square, inlaid lights at each corner of the panel.[142] Fallingwater's entrance is about 60 feet (18 m) past the bridge,[63] accessed via a driveway with overhead trellises, which doubles as a porte-cochère.[141] The main doorway is recessed from the facade[10][89] and is accessed from the porte-cochère.[141] A small water fountain is located next to the entrance.[10][143]
Terraces
[edit]At Fallingwater, Wright made extensive use of cantilevered terraces,[132][95] which are made of concrete.[15][56] At the time of the house's construction, neither cantilevers nor reinforced concrete were commonplace.[140] Wright likened the terraces to tree branches[56] and, as one Associated Press writer described it, "a tray balancing on the fingers of a waiter".[62] All the terraces have parapets with rounded tips, which are covered with a stucco layer measuring 0.25 inches (6.4 mm) thick.[52]
The primary section of the main house, which includes the living room, is cantilevered over the stream on a 75-short-ton (67-long-ton; 68 t) terrace.[50] The cantilevered section is supported at one end by three reinforced-concrete piers and one masonry pier, which sit above a sandstone ledge.[41] A 14.5-foot-long (4.4 m) reinforced-concrete beam is cantilevered outward from each pier, and concrete joists run perpendicularly to the reinforced-concrete beams.[41][118] The underside of the cantilevered section is made of a reinforced-concrete slab.[41][102] The beams and joists form a grid above the slab, which is similar in shape to an inverted coffered ceiling.[102] Above the grid of beams and joists are wooden planks, which are covered by the living room's stone floor tiles.[41] The tiles were not originally waterproofed.[52]
There are terraces leading off the living room's western and eastern walls.[15][68] An additional terrace extends off the second floor's southern side, which weighs 50 short tons (45 long tons; 45 t)[50] and extends about 6 feet (1.8 m) further outward than the living room below it.[68] The second-floor terrace was originally supported by four mullions along the southern wall of the living room.[6][68][102] As built, the second-floor terrace transferred too much weight onto the cantilevered living room; as such, the living-room cantilever had to be strengthened in the 2000s.[6][87] Canopy cover from the surrounding forest hangs above the terraces.[144]
Interior
[edit]Fallingwater has been cited as having either three[10] or four bedrooms.[66] The main house has a floor area of slightly more than 5,300 square feet (490 m2),[134][50] of which 2,445 square feet (227.1 m2) is composed of outdoor terraces.[136][50] The remaining 2,885 square feet (268.0 m2) is indoors.[136] Including the guest wing and terraces, there is about 8,000 square feet (740 m2) of floor area.[134] Each story has a different shape. One source described the interiors as "spaces of varying sizes and shapes that seem to flow from one to the other".[145] Wright, who was 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall, designed the house based on the assumption that the average person was his height.[53][76] As such, some ceilings are as low as 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m); the highest ceilings are 9 feet (2.7 m).[76]
The walls, chimney, and piers are made of sandstone from the surrounding area.[15] The chimney doubled as the structural core, from which the terraces were cantilevered.[56][10] The house's superstructure does not use any steel I-beams, but it does use folded slabs of reinforced concrete for structural support.[34] Steel was used for the windows and doors. The floors have black-walnut millwork as well as sandstone finishes.[15] Wright designed the hallways with low ceilings to prevent people from loitering there[47] and to create a cave-like atmosphere.[22][34] He also decreased the size of the bedrooms to encourage occupants to go outside.[47] Like the exteriors, some of the interior design elements are cantilevered, such as furniture, shelves, and the kitchen kettle's arm.[89][134] The spaces are illuminated by indirect lighting, a novelty for residential buildings at the time of Fallingwater's completion.[66]
First floor
[edit]The first story contains the main entrance, the living room (which is cantilevered above the waterfall), and the kitchen.[15][132] The first story has a waxed stone floor, an allusion to the stream flowing below it.[89][34][144] The main entrance leads to a small foyer with stone walls. To the left of the foyer, a doorway leads to one corner of the living room.[146]
The living room spans 1,800 square feet (170 m2) and also functions as a study and dining area.[34] This makes it one of the first great rooms in an American residence.[147] There are windows on three sides,[22][34] and doors lead to the terraces to the west and east.[15] From the living room's eastern terrace, a stairway, suspended from the ceiling and one wall, ascends to the second floor.[148] The living room also contains a glass hatch,[47][34] which conceals a stairway that descends into Bear Run;[132][149] Wright had insisted that this feature was "absolutely necessary from every standpoint".[64] The stairs end at a landing just above the stream,[149] and there is a shallow plunge pool at the bottom of the stairway.[150] Bear Run sometimes swells during storms; as such, water from Bear Run has flooded the first floor on occasion.[139] The fireplace hearth in the living room integrates boulders from the site.[47][132] The living room floor has a boulder that measures about 7 feet (2.1 m) long and protrudes 10 inches (250 mm) from the floor.[56] Wright had wanted to shave the top of the boulder, but Kaufmann insisted that it be kept.[62][56]
A doorway connects the kitchen and living area.[151] In the kitchen, there is a 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) niche with a fireplace, which is built into a rock outcropping.[151] Wright installed a 2-foot-diameter (0.61 m), 18-U.S.-gallon (68 L) cast iron kettle in the niche,[33][47] which is suspended from a swinging arm.[151][134] The kettle was inefficient for its purpose: It could not warm water after 12 hours, and the lid was extremely heavy.[47] When Fallingwater was used as a residence, Liliane Kaufmann seldom used the kitchen.[152]
Other stories
[edit]Stone stairways lead to the upper-floor bedrooms,[34] which, unlike the first story, are not wheelchair-accessible.[89][65] The upper-story spaces have glass exterior walls, which overlook the forest and the falls.[33] The second floor contains two bedrooms.[15] There is a master bedroom 35 feet (11 m) above the waterfall,[139] which is directly above the living room and contains a terrace.[15] The master bedroom has movable shelves and bedside lighting that was designed specifically for the house.[34] There is also a dressing room above the kitchen, which overlooks the falls to the west.[15] A second bedroom, originally used by guests, is placed above the living room's eastern section.[15][33]
On the third story, there is another bedroom directly above the second-story dressing room.[15] Edgar Kaufmann had used the third-story bedroom as a study;[89][34] that room includes a desk with a cutout to allow the windows to swing inward.[89] Liliane used the third-story terrace as a roof garden, planting herbs there.[34] A set of stairs descends to the western second-story terrace. In addition, there is a terrace overlooking the house's center, which is accessed by a gallery that connects with a footbridge over the house's driveway.[15]
Furnishings
[edit]Wright designed most of the house's built-in furniture.[139][15] To prevent the furniture from rotting due to moisture,[10] he incorporated walnut finishes into many pieces of furniture.[15] Many of the walls include wooden shelves and trim.[10] Among the original furnishings were sheepskin rugs and a sheepskin living-room couch,[132] as well as cantilevered tables.[10] The Kaufmanns also bought Tiffany lamps and Oriental art for the house,[34][139] in addition to works by artists such as Pablo Picasso[134][45] and Diego Rivera.[22][45] When Fallingwater was finished, Wright gifted the Kaufmanns a set of Japanese woodblock prints, which remain in the house.[65] WPC owns the trademarks to the pieces of furniture that Wright designed.[153]
Wright placed the house's toilets very close to the ground, about 10.5 inches (270 mm) above the floor,[6] as he believed that a squatting position was healthier than sitting atop a standard American toilet.[8][10] In addition, he clad the bathroom floors with cork tiles,[22] and he ordered industrial-sized shower heads to make visitors feel like they were under a waterfall.[8][47] Wright concealed the radiators in the house because he did not like their appearance.[34]
Not all of Wright's furnishings and design preferences were retained. Liliane Kaufmann, unhappy with Wright's original barrel-shaped seats, instead bought a set of three-legged stools, which provided more stability on the irregular stone floors.[139] In addition, Liliane ordered privacy blinds for some of the windows, in spite of Wright's wish that the windows not be obstructed by blinds or other objects.[47] In one room, Edgar Kaufmann installed shelves across one of the windows.[145] Many of the Kaufmann family's possessions also remain in place.[62]
Grounds
[edit]A breezeway or open-air walkway connects the main house with a guest and servant wing, which was completed in 1939 and is uphill of the main house.[149] The passageway, which runs underneath a concrete canopy, curves around the site of a large oak tree that was removed in 2001.[125] The walkway includes a small rock pool with a sculpture and a boulder that has water cascading down it.[47][34] The cascade was not part of the original plans for the guest wing; Wright had created it after workers discovered a hidden spring near the boulder.[34]
The guest wing has a separate lounge, bedroom, and bedroom.[33] The guest quarters feature a 6-foot-deep (1.8 m) swimming pool, which is fed by water from a spring.[34] Adjacent to the guest house is a carport with four parking spots,[33][149] which was built at the same time as the guest house and is accessed by a winding driveway.[149] There are three bedrooms and a bathroom above the carport, which are used as staff accommodations.[33] When he designed the guest wing, Wright tried to preserve the natural features of the landscape; for example, he installed a brace along the driveway to support a tree.[22][139]
The grounds include a small mausoleum for Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann.[10] There are also paths throughout the grounds, including a pathway to the waterfall.[33] Wright designed a set of gates for the house's driveway, though these were never installed.[122] A modified pair of gates, designed by George Longenecker, was used at Fallingwater from 1995 to 2005;[122][154] these gates weighed 1,700 pounds (770 kg) and measured 5 by 18 feet (1.5 by 5.5 m) across.[154] Approximately 0.25 miles (0.40 km) up the road from the main house is the Fallingwater Barn, which consists of two barns built c. 1870 and in the early 1940s.[155]
Management
[edit]The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy maintains Fallingwater, as well as a 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) site surrounding it.[65][134] The WPC hosts tours of the house,[22][47] which typically run between March and November of each year.[156][157] In addition, during December, there are tours on weekends and during the last week of the year.[156] The conservancy's standard tours cover only part of the house and do not allow photography; however, photographs are allowed on the more comprehensive tours that cover the whole house.[22] The WPC operates several educational programs for students and teachers as well.[157] Starting in 2010, the WPC hosted sleepover events for adults at nearby Mill Run, which included private tours of Fallingwater.[158]
The conservancy also operates a visitor center with a gift shop, food concessions, and an exhibit of photographs.[47][159] There is also a child-care center on the grounds, since young children are prohibited from touring the house.[11][89][159] In the 1990s, the WPC sold furnishings based on the designs of Fallingwater's furniture,[160] and in the 2000s, it sold jewelry with pieces of concrete removed during Fallingwater's restoration.[161]
By 1990, the house and grounds accommodated 128,000 visitors a year,[139] a number that increased to 135,000 during the middle of that decade.[88] An Associated Press article from 1999 estimated that over 2.7 million people had visited the building ever since it opened to the public.[65] Contract magazine said in 2001 that the house saw 140,000 visitors annually,[107] though other sources from the 2000s put the annual visitor numbers at around 120,000.[13][159] By the 2010s, annual visitation had reached 160,000.[162] Many of Fallingwater's visitors are Wright fans who also visit Kentuck Knob nearby.[147] The museum's visitors over the years have included the actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.[163]
Impact
[edit]Critical reception
[edit]Contemporary
[edit]When the house was being completed, a writer for The Christian Science Monitor praised the use of contrasting materials, shapes, and tones, saying that they "add so much enchantment to the interior".[132] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that the house had attracted notice from architectural critics because of its unusual site above a waterfall.[164] Time, writing in 1938, called Fallingwater Wright's "most beautiful job".[165]
Retrospective
[edit]A writer for The Morning Call said in 1990 that the house was "like a gigantic piece of modern sculpture".[8] The next year, The New York Times described Fallingwater as "probably the most widely acclaimed modern residence in America".[166] A writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer observed that the house was unusually cozy for a modern–styled house and that the rooms were not "pretentious, grand or even luxurious".[22] A travel reporter for the Guelph Mercury likened Fallingwater to "a piece of art, where every corner, every detail, captures the imagination".[167] The Wall Street Journal's architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable wrote in 2006 that the house "surprises and inspires" and that images of the house's cantilevered terraces were iconic.[168] Edwin Heathcote of the Financial Times described Fallingwater as "a riposte to the familiar, Bauhaus-influenced white functionalism [Wright] referred to as 'cardboard houses'".[169]
Several critics have written about the house's relationship with nature. Benjamin Forgey of The Washington Post wrote in 1994 that the house was "another facet or expression of nature and its processes".[89] The Hartford Courant wrote that, despite mixed reviews of Wright's design philosophy, "it's difficult to ignore" the design features of Fallingwater, which "feels organic and inevitable".[53] The Guardian said that Fallingwater "made a dynamic and convincing connection between an uncompromisingly Modern architecture and a wild landscape".[76] Blair Kamin wrote for the Chicago Tribune that the house "appears to be in complete harmony with nature yet it also appears distinctly man-made".[50] David Taylor of The Washington Post said the design "gives fresh meaning to the phrase 'living on the land'".[45]
Smithsonian listed the house among its "Life List of 28 Places to See Before You Die" in 2008.[170][171] Members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) named Fallingwater the "best all-time work of American architecture" in 1991,[172][173] and the AIA dubbed it the "building of the century" in 2000.[45][168] AIA members also ranked Fallingwater 29th on the society's "America's Favorite Architecture" list in 2007.[174][175] Architectural Record named Fallingwater "the world's most significant building of the 20th century",[124] and The New York Times said that architects considered Fallingwater "one of Wright's supreme creations".[7]
Not all commentary was positive. In 1997, The Baltimore Sun wrote that the house "reeks of the architect's arrogance, from the low ceilings (Wright himself was short) to the uneven floors" and questioned whether the house's high maintenance costs were worth it.[176] William Thorsell wrote for The Globe and Mail that the house "turns its back to the landscape" and that the terrace parapets, the built-in furniture, and the use of rock and dark wood gave the house "a basement feeling".[177] Thorsell felt that the house was in the wrong place because the waterfall, the site's primary attraction, could not readily be seen from the house itself.[177]
Landmark designations
[edit]Fallingwater became a National Historic Landmark in 1966,[162] and the house was also added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 23, 1974.[178] The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission named Fallingwater as "Commonwealth Treasure" in October 2000.[113][179] Fallingwater was deemed eligible for inclusion on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2009,[171] and the United States Department of the Interior nominated Fallingwater to the World Heritage List in 2015, alongside nine other buildings.[180][181] UNESCO ultimately added eight properties, including Fallingwater, to the World Heritage List in July 2019 under the title "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright".[182][183]
Media depictions
[edit]Fallingwater has been depicted in several creative works. For example. it inspired the fictional Vandamm residence at Mount Rushmore in the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest.[184] The conclusion of Greg Sestero's 2021 film Miracle Valley was shot inside of Fallingwater; according to Sestero, it was the first feature film to ever be shot in the house.[185] The house has been the subject of other works of fiction, including a children's book featuring a talking dog.[186]
Fallingwater is the subject of the 1994 documentary film Fallingwater: A Conversation With Edgar Kaufmann Jr., produced by Kenneth Love and the WPC, which includes footage of Edgar Kaufmann Jr. and Wright speaking about the house.[187] The WPC published the book Fallingwater: Frank Lloyd Wright's Romance with Nature in 1996,[188] and the writer Franklin Toker wrote the book Fallingwater Rising about the house's history in 2001.[9][189] To celebrate the house's 75th anniversary, another book about the house's history was published through Rizzoli in 2011.[162][190] Furthermore, a virtual tour of the house was released in CD format in 1997.[191]
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City displayed pictures of the house in 1938, after it was completed;[192] according to the Post-Gazette, this helped draw attention to the house.[113] MoMA exhibited more images of the house after Wright's death in 1959,[193] and it displayed a model of the house in 2009.[194] The Carnegie Museum of Art also hosted an exhibit in 1999 that featured the house.[195] The house's design has inspired that of other structures, such as a gas station in the Washington metropolitan area.[196]
See also
[edit]- List of National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Fayette County, Pennsylvania
- Kaufmann Desert House, another Kaufmann residence
- List of Frank Lloyd Wright works
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Fallingwater". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
- ^ "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
- ^ "Fallingwater". Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
- ^ a b c Silman 2000, p. 88.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wald, Matthew L. (September 2, 2001). "Rescuing a World-Famous but Fragile House". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c Sommers, Carl (June 23, 1991). "Q and A". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kraft, Randy (October 7, 1990). "Fallingwater lives up to its billing". The Morning Call. pp. F1, F4. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Maslin, Janet (September 29, 2003). "Books of the Times; Behind a Masterpiece, a Merchant and a Modernist". The New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Ecenbarger, William (August 30, 1992). "Waterfall Wonder: Architect Frank Lloyd Wright Refused to Build Fallingwater Where the Owners Wanted It. So – It Has Become an Architectural Marvel Around the World". Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. R1, R8. ProQuest 1839103842. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ a b "The Shades of Summer". The Daily American. May 29, 1993. p. 20. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ Stabert, Lee (February 27, 2017). "On the Way to...Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater". Keystone Edge. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Western Pa. offering Wright 'trinity' tour". Lancaster New Era. Associated Press. September 3, 2007. p. 10. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ Dvorak, Amy (May 20, 2019). "Frank Lloyd Wright's Mäntylä House Opens to Overnight Guests at Polymath Park". Dwell. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p National Park Service 1974, p. 2.
- ^ Hoffmann 1977, p. 3.
- ^ Hoffmann 1977, p. 5.
- ^ a b Hoffmann 1977, p. 7.
- ^ Hoffmann 1977, pp. 7–8.
- ^ Hoffmann 1977, pp. 8–9.
- ^ Van Trump, J.D. (1983). Life and Architecture in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh & Landmarks Foundation. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-0-916670-08-5. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
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- ^ a b Hoffmann 1977, p. 10.
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- ^ Waggoner 2011, pp. 174–177.
- ^ Waggoner 2011, p. 178.
- ^ a b c Hoffmann 1977, p. 11.
- ^ a b c Hoffmann 1977, p. 12.
- ^ a b Waggoner 2011, p. 181.
- ^ Silman 2000, pp. 88, 90.
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- ^ Waggoner 2011, pp. 181–182.
- ^ a b Hoffmann 1977, p. 14.
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- ^ McCarter 2002, p. 7.
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- ^ McCarter 2002, p. 59.
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Sources
[edit]- Fallingwater (Report). National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. July 23, 1974.
- Hoffmann, Donald (1977). Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater: The House and Its History (1st ed.). Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-27430-6.
- McCarter, Robert (1997). Frank Lloyd Wright. London: Phaidon Press. pp. 204–220. ISBN 978-0-7148-3148-0.
- McCarter, Robert (2002). Fallingwater Aid (Architecture in Detail). Phaidon Press. ISBN 0-7148-4213-3.
- Milão, Susana; Ribeiro, Telma; Neves, Isabel Clara; Lima, Ana; Pacheco, Luís Paulo (September 21, 2024). "20th-Century World Built Heritage Facing Water: Conservation of Fallingwater and Boa Nova Tea House". Buildings. 14 (9): 3004. doi:10.3390/buildings14093004. ISSN 2075-5309. ProQuest 3110410666.
- Silman, Robert (September 2000). "The Plan to Save Falling water". Scientific American. 283 (3). Scientific American, a division of Nature America, Inc.: 88–95. ISSN 0036-8733. JSTOR 26058864. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- Sullivan, C C (September 2002). "Falling water, standing still". Architecture: The AIA Journal. Vol. 91, no. 9. pp. 95–97. ProQuest 227857210.
- Toker, Franklin (2007) [2003]. Fallingwater Rising: Frank Lloyd Wright, E. J. Kaufmann, and America's Most Extraordinary House. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-42584-3.
- Waggoner, Lynda (2011). Fallingwater. Rizzoli Publications. ISBN 978-0-8478-4847-8.
Further reading
[edit]- Brand, Stewart (1995). How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-013996-6.
- Kaufmann, Edgar (1987). Fallingwater: A Frank Lloyd Wright Country House. WW Norton. ISBN 978-0-89659-662-7.
- Stoller, Ezra (January 1, 2000). Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. New York: Springer Science & Business. ISBN 1-56898-203-8.
- Storrer, William Allin (1993). The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-77624-8.
- Waggoner, Lynda S.; Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (1996). Fallingwater. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-0072-0.
External links
[edit]- 1939 establishments in Pennsylvania
- Frank Lloyd Wright buildings
- Historic house museums in Pennsylvania
- Houses completed in 1939
- Houses in Fayette County, Pennsylvania
- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
- Laurel Highlands
- Modernist architecture in Pennsylvania
- Museums in Fayette County, Pennsylvania
- National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania
- National Register of Historic Places in Fayette County, Pennsylvania
- Restored and conserved buildings
- 1930s architecture in the United States