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Fallingwater
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
The famous view of Fallingwater
The famous view of Fallingwater
Location: Mill Run, Pennsylvania
Nearest city: Pittsburgh
Coordinates: 39°54′23″N 79°27′54″W / 39.90639, -79.465Coordinates: 39°54′23″N 79°27′54″W / 39.90639, -79.465
Built/Founded: 1935
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Architectural style(s): Modernism
Added to NRHP: 1974
Visitation: ~135,000 (in )
Governing body: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
This article is about the house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the Stewart Township is a township in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8 1867 &ndash April 9 1959 was an American (of Welsh descent Architect, Interior designer, Writer, and educator who This article is concerned with architectural aspects of Modernism; for the most recent developments in architecture see Contemporary architecture. The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC has been around for more than 75 years (1932 - 2007 and exists to protect the water land and life of western Pennsylvania For the house designed by Richard Neutra, see Kaufmann Desert House. Richard Joseph Neutra ( April 8, 1892 &ndash April 16, 1970) is considered one of Modernism 's most important Architects The Kaufmann House, or Kaufmann Desert House, in Palm Springs California, was designed by Richard Neutra in 1946

Fallingwater, also known as the Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. Residence, is a house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. House generally refers to a Shelter or Building that is a Dwelling or place for Habitation by Human beings. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8 1867 &ndash April 9 1959 was an American (of Welsh descent Architect, Interior designer, Writer, and educator who The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern The Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area (also called Greater Pittsburgh) as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of seven counties The house was built partly over a waterfall in Bear Run at Rural Route 1 in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains. The Bear Run is a Stream in eastern Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the Appalachian Mountains and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area Stewart Township is a township in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. Fayette County is a County located in the US state of Pennsylvania. The Laurel Highlands, is a part of southwestern Pennsylvania, encompassing Fayette County, Somerset County and Westmoreland County. The Allegheny Mountain Range (also spelled Alleghany and Allegany) &mdash informally the Alleghenies &mdash is part of the vast Appalachian

Hailed by TIME magazine shortly after its completion as Wright's "most beautiful job,"[1] the home inspired Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead[2], and is listed among Smithsonian magazine's Life List of 28 places "to visit before . Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and Ayn Rand (ˈaɪn ˈrænd &ndash March 6 1982 born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум was a Russian born American The Fountainhead is a 1943 Novel by Ayn Rand. It was Rand's first major literary success and its Royalties and movie rights Smithsonian is a monthly Magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D . . it's too late. "[3] Fallingwater was featured in Bob Vila's A&E Network production, Guide to Historic Homes of America. Robert J "Bob" Vila (born June 20, 1946) is an American Home improvement television show host known for This Old House A&E is a cable and Satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta, [4]

Contents

History

Edgar Kaufmann Sr. Edgar J Kaufmann (1885–1955 was a prominent US businessman and philanthropist who owned Kaufmann's, the best-known Department store in Pittsburgh was a successful Pittsburgh businessman and founder of Kaufmann's Department Store. Kaufmann's was an iconic Department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His son, Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., studied architecture under Wright briefly. Edgar Kaufmann Jr (1910 – July 31, 1989) was an American architect lecturer and author The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation

Edgar Sr. had been prevailed upon by his son and Wright to itemize the cost of his utopian model city. When completed, it was displayed at Kaufmann’s Department Store and Wright was a guest in the Kaufmann home, “La Tourelle”, a French Norman masterpiece that celebrated Pittsburgh architect Benno Janssen (1874-1964) had created in the stylish Fox Chapel suburb in 1923 for Edgar J. Benno Janssen (1874&ndash1964 was an American Architect. He was born in St Kaufmann. The Kaufmanns and Wright were enjoying refreshments at La Tourelle when Wright, who never missed an opportunity to charm a potential client, said to Edgar Jr. in tones that the elder Kaufmanns were intended to overhear, “Edgar, this house is not worthy of your parents…” The remark spurred the Kaufmann’s interest in something worthier. Fallingwater would become the end result.

The Kaufmanns owned some property outside Pittsburgh with a waterfall and some cabins. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual A waterfall is usually a geological formation resulting from water often in the form of a Stream, flowing over an Erosion -resistant rock A log cabin is a small house built from logs It is a fairly simple type of Log house. When the cabins at their camp had deteriorated to the point that something had to be rebuilt, Mr. Kaufmann contacted Wright.

In November 1934 Wright visited Bear Run. He asked for a survey of the area around the waterfall, which he received in March 1935. Surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional space Position of points and the distances and angles between This survey was prepared by Fayette Engineering Company of Uniontown, Pennsylvania and included all of the boulders, trees and topography. Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 50 miles (80 km southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. In Geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm (10 Inches diameter A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or It took 9 months for his ideas for the site to crystallize into a design which was quickly sketched up by Wright in time for a visit by Kaufmann to Taliesin in September 1935. [5]. [6] It was then that Kaufmann first became aware that Wright’s design was for the house to be built above the falls,[7] rather than below the falls as he had expected. [8]

Design and Construction

The structural design for Fallingwater was undertaken by Wright in association with Mendel Glickman and William Wesley Peters who had been responsible for the design of the revolutionary columns which were a feature of Wright’s design for the Johnson Wax Headquarters. Johnson Wax Headquarters (1936-1939 the world headquarters and administration building of S

Preliminary plans were issued to Kaufmann for approval on 15 October 1935 [9] after which Wright made a further visit to the site and provided a cost estimate to his client. In December 1935 an old rock quarry was opened to the west of the water to provide the stones needed for the house’s walls. Wright only made periodic visits to the site during construction, instead assigning Bob Mosher who was one of his apprentices as his permanent on-site representative. [10] The final working drawings were issued by Wright in March 1936 with work beginning on the bridge and the main house in April 1936.

The construction was plagued by conflicts between Wright, Kaufmann and the construction contractor.

Kaufmann had Wright’s design reviewed by a firm of consulting engineers as he doubted whether Wright had sufficient experience with using reinforced concrete. Upon receiving their report Wright took offense and immediately requested Kaufmann to return his drawings and indicated he was withdrawing from the project. Kaufmann apologized and the engineer’s report was subsequently buried within a stone wall of the house. [11].

After a visit to the site, Wright in June 1936 rejected the concrete work for the bridge, which had to be rebuilt.

For the cantilevered floors Wright and his team used integral upside-down beams with the flat slab on the bottom forming the ceiling of the space below. The contractor, Walter Hall, who was also an engineer, produced independent computations and argued for increasing the reinforcement in the first floor’s slab. Wright rebuffed the contractor. While some sources state that it was the contractor who quietly doubled the amount of reinforcement[12], according to others[13], it was at Kaufmann’s request that his consulting engineers redrew Wright’s reinforcing drawings and doubled the amount of steel specified by Wright. This additional steel not only added weight to the slab but was set so close together that the concrete often could not properly fill in between the steel, which weakened the slab. In addition the contractor didn’t build in a slight upward incline in the formwork for the cantilever to compensate for the settling and drooping of the cantilever once the concrete had cured and the formwork was removed. As a result the cantilever developed a noticeable droop. Upon finding out what had been done Wright temporarily replaced Mosher with Edgar Tafel. [14]


The consulting engineers with Kaufmann’s approval arranged for the contractor to install a supporting 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. [15]


In October 1937 the main house was completed.

Cost

At the time of its construction, the house cost a total of $155,000. [16] broken down as follows:[17] house $75,000, finishing and furnishing $22,000, guest house, garage and servants quarters $50,000, architect's fee $8,000. Accounting for inflation, this translates to about $2. 3 million in 2007 dollars[18].

Use of the house

Fallingwater was the family's weekend home from 1937 to 1963. In 1963, Kaufmann, Jr. donated the property to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC has been around for more than 75 years (1932 - 2007 and exists to protect the water land and life of western Pennsylvania In 1964 it was opened to the public as a museum and nearly five million people have visited the house since (as of January 2008). It currently hosts more than 120,000 visitors each year. [16]

Style

Interior of Fallingwater depicting a sitting area with furnishings designed by Wright
Interior of Fallingwater depicting a sitting area with furnishings designed by Wright

Fallingwater stands as one of Wright's greatest masterpieces both for its dynamism and for its integration with the striking natural surroundings. The extent of Wright's genius in integrating every detail of this design can only be hinted at in photographs. This organically designed private residence was intended to be a nature retreat for its owners. Organic architecture is a philosophy of Architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated The house is well-known for its connection to the site: it is built on top of an active waterfall which flows beneath the house. The fireplace hearth in the living room is composed of boulders found on the site and upon which the house was built — one set of boulders which was left in place protrudes slightly through the living room floor. A fireplace is an architectural element consisting of a space designed to contain a Fire, generally for Heating but sometimes also for Cooking In common historic and modern usage a hearth (Har-th is a Brick - or stone -lined Fireplace or Oven used for Cooking and/or Heating A floor is the walking surface of a room or vehicle Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many-layered surfaces using modern technology Wright had initially intended that these boulders would be cut flush with the floor, but this had been one of the Kaufmann family's favorite sunning spots, so Mr. Kaufmann insisted that it be left as it was. The stone floors are waxed, while the hearth is left plain, giving the impression of dry rocks protruding from a stream.

Integration with the setting extends even to small details. For example, where glass meets stone walls, there is no metal frame; rather, the glass is caulked directly to the stone. Caulking is a process used to seal the seams in Wooden Boats or ships and riveted iron or steel ships in order to make them watertight There are stairways directly down to the water. And in the "bridge" that connects the main house to the guest and servant building, a natural boulder drips water inside, which is then directed back out. Bedrooms are small, some even with low ceilings, perhaps to encourage people outward toward the open social areas, decks, and outdoors.

The active stream (which can be heard constantly throughout the house), immediate surroundings, and locally quarried stone walls and cantilevered terraces (resembling the nearby rock formations) are meant to be in harmony, in line with Wright's interest in making buildings that were more "organic" and which thus seemed to be more engaged with their surroundings. A cantilever is a beam supported on only one end The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and Shear stress. Organic describes forms methods and patterns found in living systems such as the organisation of cells, to Populations communities, and Ecosystems Although the waterfall can be heard throughout the house, it can't be seen without going outside. The design incorporates broad expanses of windows and the balconies are off main rooms giving a sense of the closeness of the surroundings. The experiential climax of visiting the house is an interior staircase leading down from the living room allowing direct access to the rushing stream beneath the house.

Pathway leading to the entrance of Fallingwater.
Pathway leading to the entrance of Fallingwater.

Wright's views of what would be the entry have been argued about; still, the door Wright considered the main door is tucked away in a corner and is rather small. Wright's idea of the grand facade for this house is from the perspective of all the famous pictures of the house, looking up from downstream, viewing the opposite corner from the main door.

On the hillside above the main house is a four-car carport (though the Kaufmanns had requested a garage), servants' quarters, and a guest bedroom. A residential garage is part of a home or an associated building designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles This attached outbuilding was built one year later using the same quality of materials and attention to detail as the main house. Just uphill from it is a small swimming pool, continually fed by a natural water, which then overflows to the river below.

Structural problems

The cantilevers at Fallingwater
The cantilevers at Fallingwater

Fallingwater's structural system includes a series of bold reinforced concrete cantilevered balconies. A cantilever is a beam supported on only one end The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and Shear stress. Structural engineering is a field of Engineering dealing with the analysis and design of Structures that support or resist loads Structural engineering is Reinforced concrete is Concrete in which reinforcement bars (" Rebars quot or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen a material that would otherwise be However, the house had problems from the beginning. Pronounced sags were noticed immediately with both of the prominent balconies - the living room and the second floor. [19]

The strong horizontal and vertical lines are a distinctive feature of Fallingwater.
The strong horizontal and vertical lines are a distinctive feature of Fallingwater.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy conducted an intensive program to preserve and restore Fallingwater. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC has been around for more than 75 years (1932 - 2007 and exists to protect the water land and life of western Pennsylvania The structural work was completed in 2002. This involved a detailed study of the original design documents, observing and modeling the structure's behavior, then developing and implementing a repair plan.

The study indicated that the original structural design and plan preparation had been rushed and the cantilevers had significantly inadequate reinforcement. As originally designed by Wright, the cantilevers would not have held their own weight. [12]

The 2002 repair scheme involved temporarily supporting the structure; careful, selective, removal of the floor; post-tensioning the cantilevers underneath the floor; then restoring the finished floor. Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming the Concrete 's natural weakness in tension. [12]

Given the humid environment directly over running water, the house also had mold problems. The senior Mr. Kaufmann called Fallingwater "a seven-bucket building" for its leaks, and nicknamed it "Rising Mildew" (Brand 1995). Mildew refers to certain kinds of Mold or Fungus. In Old English, it meant honeydew (a substance secreted by Aphids on leaves formerly


Picture Gallery

Exterior

Interior

References

  1. ^ Usonian Architech. TIME magazine Jan. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and 17, 1938. Retrieved on 2008-01-27. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva.
  2. ^ Smithsonian Magazine - Travel - Fallingwater. Smithsonian magazine January 2008. Smithsonian is a monthly Magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D Retrieved on 2008-01-27. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva.
  3. ^ Smithsonian Magazine - Travel - The Smithsonian Life List. Smithsonian magazine January 2008. Smithsonian is a monthly Magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D Retrieved on 2008-01-27. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva.
  4. ^ Bob Vila (1996). Robert J "Bob" Vila (born June 20, 1946) is an American Home improvement television show host known for This Old House "Guide to Historic Homes of America." (html). HTML, an initialism of HyperText Markup Language, is the predominant Markup language for Web pages It provides a means to describe the structure A&E Network. A&E is a cable and Satellite television network with headquarters in Manhattan and offices in Stamford, Atlanta,
  5. ^ McCarter, page 59.
  6. ^ Toker, Franklin (2003). Fallingwater Rising: Frank Lloyd Wright, E. J. Kaufmann, and America's Most Extraordinary House. Knopf. ISBN 1-4000-4026-4.  
  7. ^ "[W]hy did the client say that he expected to look from his house toward the waterfall rather than dwell above it?" Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. , Fallingwater: A Frank Lloyd Wright Country House, New York: Abbeville Press, p. 31. (ISBN 0-89659-662-1)
  8. ^ McCarter, page 7.
  9. ^ McCarter, page 12.
  10. ^ McCarter, page 12.
  11. ^ McCarter, page 12.
  12. ^ a b c Feldman, Gerard C. (2005). "Fallingwater Is No Longer Falling". STRUCTURE magazine (September): pp. 46–50.
  13. ^ McCarter, page 12.
  14. ^ McCarter, pages 12 and 13.
  15. ^ McCarter, pages 13.
  16. ^ a b Plushnick-Masti, Ramit. "New Wright house in western Pa. completes trinity of work", Associated Press, 2007-09-27. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again Retrieved on 2007-10-09. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks.  
  17. ^ McCarter, page 59.
  18. ^ "The Inflation Calculator".  
  19. ^ Silman, Robert and John Matteo. "Repair and Retrofit: Is Falling Water Falling Down?", Structure Magazine, 2001-07-01. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Retrieved on 2007-09-20. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France.  

Further Reading

External links


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