Fallingwater

Fallingwater, originally called Kaufmann House after its owner and principal Edgar J. Kaufmann, a department store owner from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of the most famous private homes of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It was built in 1935-1937 and is one of the most famous buildings in the United States. Next to the Villa Tugendhat, the Villa Savoye and the Schminke House, it is one of the most important representatives of houses of modernity.

Location

Fallingwater is located about 80 kilometers southeast of Pittsburgh in the Allegheny Mountains in the valley of the River Youghiogheny River.

A few kilometers away in the village of Uniontown which also designed by Frank Lloyd Wright homes Kentuck Knob.

History

The men's clothing short of a merchant family owned some land with some log cabins next to a small waterfall. As the huts were so strong decay that had to be thought of a new building, Edgar J. Kaufmann made ​​contact with Frank Lloyd Wright. The client wanted a building with views of the waterfall.

After a thorough survey of the site that involved all trees and rock outcropping, Wright suggested, however, to construct the building above the waterfall.

After seeing the site, Wright said to his authority:

However, the result shocked both merchant and the Architekturestablishment. Wright said to Kaufmann:

Built from 1935 to 1937, Fallingwater was in the period 1937-1963, the weekend and holiday home of the Kaufmann family.

In 1964, the architectural icon became a museum, which has since attracted some four million visitors.

Architecture

In this building Wright took over the formal language of the International Style, the hitherto somewhat factual in public buildings was used, adapting them to the needs of Surrounded by nature, private residence. The result is a particularly successful example of organic architecture: The house is located above a waterfall, the fireplace in the living room consists of rocks that were found on the property; some boulders were left in place so that they protrude slightly from the floor. Originally Wright wanted to let these rocks erode to the level of the floor covering; since one of the favorite places in the merchant was here but have been sunbathing, the owner insisted to integrate the stones intact. The stone floors are waxed, while the bottom of the fireplace was left untreated, giving the impression of dry rocks generated protruding from a stream.

The small river, which can be heard in the building anywhere, immediate environment, the walls made ​​of stone, which was recovered at the site and the cantilevered terraces in harmony with each other and so put Wright's intention to, " more organic " to construct buildings that are better in their natural environment are integrated. The design accented by wide windows and balconies surrounding the closeness to nature. Although the waterfall can be heard in the building, one can only see it when you step outside. To this end, a staircase was built leading from the living room down to the level of the water.

The complex horizontal layering of the building is emphasized by the bright concrete parapets of the terraces and overhanging roofs, which are grouped around a central cube made of natural stone, which is interrupted and broken again and again. The main entrance of the building, however, had been described by Wright is not unique as such, is relatively small and inconspicuous in a corner. The envisaged by the architects face side is opposite the entrance and is the one that is shown on the well-known photos: upriver seen with the waterfall in the foreground.

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

Related structural problems

The building of Fallingwater has a number of cantilevered balconies made ​​of reinforced concrete, which caused problems from the beginning. Especially with the balconies off the living room and the first floor still fell during construction on significant reductions. Investigations on the occasion of the completed restoration work in 2002 showed that the original static calculations was inadequate and so strong undersized as a result the reinforcement that the balconies have not even been able to support their own weight. The contractor, himself an engineer, recommended by its own calculations to enhance the reinforcement. The proposal was rejected by Wright and Kaufmann followed his advice. Nevertheless, the contractor doubled in silence the amount of reinforcing steel, which, although still not enough, but probably saved the building from collapsing. During the restoration in 2002, temporary supports were withdrawn and re-tensioned after the selective removal of the bottom of the reinforcing steel.

Given the humid environment directly over running water constantly, the house also had problems with mold.