frank lloyd wright waterfall house photos

Almost all of the original Wright-designed furnishings are still in place. It’s the only great Wright house open to the public with its setting, original furnishings, and art work intact.

Since 1964 it’s a museum with lots of people visiting it. On the hillside above the main house is a garage, servants’ quarters, and a guest bedroom.įallingwater was the family’s weekend home from 1937 to 1963. There is also an interior staircase leading down from the living room allowing direct access to the stream beneath the house. The project incorporates broad expanses of windows and the balconies are off main rooms giving by this way a sense of the closeness of the environment.

Wright embraced modern technology to achieve this, designing spaces for living. The CG images presented below show graphically how Wright used concrete and stone in the structure of Fallingwater, level by level, as the house was built.įallingwater is the best example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s concept of organic architecture, which promotes harmony between man and nature through design perfectly integrated with its environment. It fits into the hillside and extends out over the waterfalls just as if it has always belonged there. The strong horizontal and vertical lines composed by terraces and walls are a distinctive feature of this house.īuilding Fallingwater was a complicated and detailed operation, yet the resulting house seems to belong quietly in its setting. Wright extended the floors in horizontal bands, which echoed rock ledges, in a series of cantilevered concrete terraces, anchored to masonry walls made of the same sandstone as the rock ledges. By this way, light would come from several angles to provide a balanced ambience. With these materials he needed glass, framed to give structure and rhythm to the group. Near the property, native Pottsville sandstone was available to compliment the reinforced concrete Wright had in mind for the cantilevered floors. Main house plans – Entry and main floor Main house plans – Second floor Main house plans – Third floor

He oriented the house to the southeast as preferred, by this way the house would hover serenely over the water. Given the contour of the land, Wright located a house anchored in the rock next to the falls, just over the stream. I think that you can hear the waterfall when you look at the design” (…) Quote by Frank Lloyd Wright in an interview with Hugh Downs, 1954 So that was a prime motive in the design. He loved the site where the house was built and liked to listen to the waterfall. “There in a beautiful forest was a solid, high rock ledge rising beside a waterfall, and the natural thing seemed to be to cantilever the house from that rock bank over the falling water… Then came (of course) Mr. They were surprised hearing the Wright’s suggestion to build a house positioned exactly over the falls. The Kaufmanns assumed quickly the idea of Wright designing a house that would overlook the waterfall. Wright responded to the family’s love for a waterfall on Bear Run, a rushing mountain stream. Main house plans – South elevation Main house plans – East elevation Kaufmann contacted Wright to order a new project on this property: that was the origin of Fallingwater. His family owned a property in a rural area with a waterfall and some cabins 50 miles southeast of the city. Overall plans – Site plan Overall plans – South elevation Overall plans – East elevationĮdgar Kaufmann Sr. Construction began in 1936, and ended with the completion of the guest house in 1939. Fallingwater -as this building is commonly named in english- is a house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935.

Frank lloyd wright waterfall house photos