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ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS -
FALLINGWATERBY KENNY SLAUGHT
When people think about architectural wonders, they generally gravitate toward massive projects and iconic structures, such as the Eiffel Tower or the Sydney Opera House.
However, many architectural wonders are far more modest; rather than rising hundreds of feet into the air, they have earned fame for their aesthetic beauty or innovative design.
Perhaps the most famous of these works is Fallingwater, the masterpiece of America's most renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.
Completed in 1939, Fallingwater has been hailed by organizations such as the American Institute of Architects as the preeminent example of American architectural achievement.
Located in rural Pennsylvania, situated in the mountainous countryside about an hour away from Pittsburgh, the property hosts more than 150,000 visitors every year.
Under the stewardship of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Fallingwater has kept its original artwork and furniture, much of which was designed by Wright himself.
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT BEFORE FALLINGWATER
Born in 1867, Frank Lloyd Wright dropped out of the University of Wisconsin at Madison's civil engineering program to study architecture under the tutelage of Joseph Silsbee.
He struck out on his own as an architect in 1893 and quickly established what came to be known as the "Prairie School," a style of architecture typified by low, horizontal single-story structures made with locally sourced, plain materials.
Buildings like the Frederick C. Robie House quickly made Wright well known among American architects and European tastemakers.
Following the turn of the century, Wright took his talents abroad to Germany before returning to America to design and build his estate, which he called Taliesin.
The Great Depression temporarily halted Wright's work, and he devoted himself to teaching through his Taliesin Fellowship and writing his memoirs.
Any other architect may have been content with Wright's portfolio circa 1930, but it was the buildings that came after this period that would end up elevating him from a significant architect to a veritable celebrity.
THE KAUFMANN'S SUMMER CABIN
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One of Wright's students at the Taliesin Fellowship, Edgar Kaufmann Jr., came from one of Pittsburgh's most prominent families, which owned Kaufmann's Department Store.
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The Kaufmanns, like many other wealthy Pittsburgh residents, kept a summer retreat in the mountains, but the property was relatively modest: a rustic cabin overlooking Bear Run, a stream with a 30-foot waterfall.
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The once-remote estate, however, lost some of its charm when a newly paved road brought the city's traffic to the mountains, and the Kaufmanns decided they needed a proper mountain retreat.
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Edgar suggested to his parents that Wright could design such an estate, and the architect delivered the first draft of Fallingwater’s design in 1935.
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Fallingwater was decidedly original from the first sketches. While the Kaufmanns expected the house to have views of Bear Run’s beautiful waterfall, Wright instead planned to build the structure on top of the waterfall.
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His work had always focused on blending the built environment with the natural environment, a style commentators invariably refer to as “organic,” and Fallingwater was the apotheosis of this technique.
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The design called for openings in all directions, including a staircase from the interior to the stream itself.
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The low, cozy rooms were designed both to make people feel comfortable and secure, but also to encourage them to leave the house to explore the outdoors.
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While most accounts of Fallingwater's design include an anecdote about Edgar Kaufmann Sr.'s initial dislike of Wright's decision to place the house over the falls, the men smoothed over their disagreement and construction began in 1936.
BUILDING A LEGEND
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In some ways, Fallingwater was simple; for example, Wright called for the use of exactly two exterior colors: "Cherokee red" for the steel and a light ochre for the concrete.
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The aggressive cantilevered design, however, that gives Fallingwater its gorgeously strong lines, proved much more difficult.
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The local engineers, contractors, and Kaufmann himself were skeptical of Wright's belief that unsupported slabs would be safe, and the workers frequently attempted to add more supporting beams.
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One notable spat involved Kaufmann asking for a supporting wall and Wright calling for it to be built disconnected from the slab, a bit of theatre that convinced Kaufmann of the design's safety.
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Ultimately, Fallingwater cost the Kaufmanns $155,000, a price equivalent to $2.6 million in 2014 dollars.
PROTECTING A LEGACY - FALLINGWATER SINCE 1939
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The primary house at Fallingwater was finished in 1937, with the guest house following two years later.
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The Kaufmanns kept the home for over 25 years before entrusting it to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
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The decades that followed saw continual renovations; sagging slabs and cracking concrete eventually required reinforcement, and this, along with other issues, eventually resulted in nearly $12 million in restoration costs over the years.
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Today, Fallingwater retains its original appearance inside and out, thanks in part to post-tensioned steel cables hidden under the floors.
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Of course, the restoration costs are nothing compared to the priceless value of Fallingwater, a building that also functions as a work of art.
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Its brilliance was realized even before it was finished, and it appeared behind a portrait of Wright on the cover of Time magazine a year before the completion of the property.
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Fallingwater has been imitated in countless ways, in every medium from Legos to a 1/1 millionth scale silicon model.
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Wright went on to design several more notable buildings, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the S.C. Johnson Wax Administration Building in Wisconsin, before his death in 1959.
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However, it is Fallingwater that remains his most iconic contribution to American architecture—the perfect example of a philosophy that emphasized buildings existing in harmony with their surrounding environment.
