Fallingwater

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Fallingwater
model

Fallingwater , originally named Kaufmann House after its owner and client Edgar J. Kaufmann , a department store owner from Pittsburgh , is one of the most famous private homes of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright . It was built between 1935 and 1939 and is one of the most recognizable buildings in the United States. Along with Villa Tugendhat , Villa Savoye and Haus Schminke , it is one of the most important representatives of modern residential buildings .

location

Fallingwater is located approximately 80 kilometers southeast of Pittsburgh in southwestern Pennsylvania in the Youghiogheny River valley in the Allegheny Mountains . A few kilometers away in Uniontown is the private house Kentuck Knob, also designed by Frank Lloyd Wright .

history

The family of the men's clothing dealer Kaufmann owned some land with a few log cabins next to a small waterfall. When the huts had deteriorated so badly that a new building had to be thought of, Edgar J. Kaufmann contacted Frank Lloyd Wright. The client wanted a building with a view of the waterfall.

However, after a precise survey of the construction site, which also included all the trees and exposed rocks, Wright suggested that the building be erected over the waterfall.

After seeing the property, Wright said to his client:

Your house has already taken shape in my mind's eye - in harmony with the music of the Bach.

However, the result surprised both Kaufmann and the architectural establishment. Wright said to Kaufmann:

I want you to live with the waterfall, not just look at it. It should become part of your life.

The construction of the main house lasted from 1935 to 1937, further work dragged on until 1939. Between 1937 and 1963 the Kaufmann family used the house as a weekend and holiday home.

In 1964, the architectural icon became a museum that has had around four million visitors since then. Fallingwater has been a National Historic Landmark since May 1966 and has been a building on the National Register of Historic Places since July 1974 .

architecture

Living room seen from the kitchen

For this building, Wright took over the design language of the International Style , which until then had been used more in functional public buildings, and adapted it to the needs of a private house in the middle of nature. The result is a particularly successful example of organic architecture : The house is located above a waterfall, the fireplace in the living room is made of rocks that were found on the property; some boulders have been left in place so that they protrude slightly from the floor. Originally, Wright wanted these rocks to be removed to the level of the flooring; But since this was one of the merchants' favorite spots for sunbathing, the client insisted on integrating the stones intact. The stone floors are waxed, while the floor of the fireplace has been left untreated, creating the appearance of dry rocks protruding from a stream.

The small river that can be heard all over the building, the immediate surroundings, the stone walls made on site, and the cantilevered terraces are in harmony with one another, realizing Wright's intention to build more "organic" buildings, the better ones inside natural environment are integrated. The design emphasizes the closeness to nature with wide windows and surrounding balconies. Although the waterfall can be heard inside the building, it can only be seen by stepping outside. For this purpose, a staircase was created that leads from the living room down to the level of the water.

The complex horizontal stratification of the building is emphasized by the light concrete parapets of the terraces and protruding roofs, which are grouped around a central cube made of natural stone, which, however, is repeatedly interrupted and structured. The main entrance to the building, though not clearly identified as such by Wright, is relatively small and inconspicuous in a corner. The face intended by the architect is opposite the entrance and is the one that is also shown in the well-known photos: seen upstream, with the waterfall in the foreground.

On the slope above the main building and connected to it by a covered staircase, there is a guest house with a garage and an apartment for servants, which was built with the same quality of construction materials and the same attention to detail.

Structural problems

Cantilever balcony

The structure of Fallingwater has a number of cantilevered balconies made of reinforced concrete , which caused problems from the beginning. Particularly in the balconies in front of the living room and on the first floor, significant subsidence was noticeable during the construction period. Investigations on the occasion of the restoration work completed in 2002 showed that the original static calculations were inadequate and the result was that the reinforcement was so undersized that the balconies could not even have supported their own weight. The building contractor, himself an engineer, recommended reinforcing the reinforcement according to his own calculations. However, the proposal was rejected by Wright and Kaufmann followed his advice. Even so, the contractor silently doubled the amount of rebar, which was still not enough, but probably saved the building from collapsing. During the restoration in 2002, temporary supports were drawn in and the reinforcing steel was reinforced after the floor was removed at certain points.

In view of the damp environment directly above constantly running water, the house also had problems with mold growth.

Trivia

The toy manufacturer Lego created Fallingwater alongside other architectural icons such as the Villa Savoye or the Farnsworth House as part of its “Architecture” series as an 815-piece model.

literature

  • Christina Haberlik: 50 classics. 20th century architecture . Hildesheim: Gerstenberg Verlag, 2001. ISBN 3-8067-2514-4

Web links

Commons : Fallingwater  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer: Frank Lloyd Wright . Taschen, Cologne 2015, ISBN 978-3-8365-6046-7 , pp. 53 .
  2. ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Pennsylvania. National Park Service , accessed February 12, 2020.
    Fallingwater on the National Register of Historic Places , accessed February 12, 2020.
  3. ↑ Lego Shop Archive "Villa Savoye"
  4. ↑ Lego Shop Archive "Farnsworth House"
  5. ↑ Lego Shop Archive "Fallingwater"

Coordinates: 39 ° 54 '22.7 "  N , 79 ° 28' 4.8"  W.