Fallingwater is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in southwestern Pennsylvania countryside, 43 miles (69 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. The house was built partly above the waterfall at Bear Run in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, located on the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains. The house was designed as a weekend home for the Liliane Kaufmann family and her husband, Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr., owner of the Kaufmann Department Store.
When it's done, Time calls Fallingwater Wright "the most beautiful job," and is listed among the Smithsonian Life List ' s of 28 places to visit before you die. "The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. In 1991, a member of the American Institute of Architects named Fallingwater" the best American architectural work of all time "and in 2007, it was ranked 29th in the list of Favorite American Architectures according to AIA.
Video Fallingwater
History
At the age of 67, Frank Lloyd Wright was given the opportunity to design and build three buildings. With three of his works in the late 1930s - Fallingwater; Johnson Candle Building in Racine, Wisconsin; and the Herbert Jacobs home in Madison, Wisconsin - Wright regains its lead in the architectural community.
The Kaufmanns
Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr. is a Pittsburgh businessman and president of the Kaufmann Department Store. Edgar and Liliane's son Edgar Kaufmann Jr. eventually became the catalyst for his father's relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright.
In the summer of 1934, Edgar Jr. read Frank Lloyd Wright's An Autobiography (1932), and traveled to meet Wright at his home in Wisconsin in late September. Within three weeks, Edgar Jr. started his apprenticeship at Taliesin Fellowship, a communal architecture program founded in 1932 by Wright and his wife Olgivanna. During a visit with Edgar Jr. at Taliesin in November 1934, Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann first met Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Kaufmanns live in "La Tourelle", a French Norman estate in the Fox Chapel designed in 1923 for Edgar J. Kaufmann by Pittsburgh architect Benno Janssen. However, the family also has a remote property outside of Pittsburgh - a small cabin near the waterfall - used as a summer retreat. When these cabins got worse, Mr. Kaufmann contacted Wright.
On December 18, 1934, Wright visited Bear Run and asked for a survey about the area around the waterfall. One was prepared by the Fayette Engineering Company of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, including all the boulders, trees, and site topography, and forwarded to Wright in March 1935.
Construction
As reported by Frank Lloyd Wright's disciples at Taliesin, Edgar Kaufmann Sr. were in Milwaukee on September 22, nine months after their initial meeting, and called Wright home Sunday morning to surprise him with the news that he was going to visit Wright that day. Kaufmann could not wait to see Wright's plan. Wright had told Kaufmann in a previous communication that he had done his plan, but had not actually drawn anything. After breakfast, in the midst of a group of very nervous students, Wright calmly devised a plan within two hours of where Kaufmann had to go to Taliesin.
Wright designed the house above the waterfall, instead beneath it to get the view of the waterfall as you might expect. It is said that Kaufmann was at first very upset because Wright had designed the house to sit on a waterfall. Kaufmann wants a house located on the southern edge of Bear Run, which directly overlooks the waterfall. He told Wright that they were his favorite aspect of the property.
The Kaufmanns plan to entertain a large group of people, so the house must be bigger than the original plot allowed. Also, Mr. and Mrs. Kaufmann asked for a separate bedroom, as well as a bedroom for their adult son, and an additional living room, for a total of four bedrooms.
Cantilever structure is used to handle this request. The structural design for Fallingwater was undertaken by Wright in collaboration with staff engineers Mendel Glickman and William Wesley Peters, in charge of the columns featured in Wright's revolutionary design for Johnson Wax Headquarters.
An initial plan was issued to Kaufmann for approval on October 15, 1935, after Wright made an additional visit to the site and provided a cost estimate for the job. In December 1935, old stone mines reopened to the west of the site to provide the necessary stones for the walls of the house. Wright only visits periodically during construction, assigning his apprentice Robert Mosher as his permanent representative on the spot. The final working image was released by Wright in March 1936, with work beginning on the bridge and main house in April.
The construction was disrupted by the conflict between Wright, Kaufmann and construction contractors. Uncomfortable with what he saw as insufficient experience Wright uses reinforced concrete, Kaufmann has a bold cantilevered architect's design reviewed by a consulting firm of engineers. Upon receiving their report, Wright is offended, immediately asks Kaufmann to return his picture and indicates that he has resigned from the project. Kaufmann relented at Wright's pace, and the engineer's report was then buried in the stone wall of the house.
For the cantilever floor, Wright and his team used inverted T-shaped beams integrated into a monolithic concrete slab that formed the ceiling of the space below and provided resistance to compression. The contractor, Walter Hall, also an engineer, produced independent calculations and argued for improving reinforcing steel in the first floor plate. Wright rejected the suggestion. While some sources state that the contractor quietly doubles the amount of reinforcement, others say that Kaufman's consulting engineer - at Kaufman's request - redraws the Wright's reinforcement image and doubles the amount of steel determined by Wright.
In addition, the contractor does not build a slight upward slant in the formwork for the support to compensate for the precipitation and cantilever deflection. After the concrete formwork is removed, the cantilever develops a real slope. After knowing the addition of unapproved steel, Wright recalled Mosher.
With the approval of Kaufmann, the consultant engineers arranged for the contractor to install a supporting wall under the main support beam for the west terrace. When Wright found him on a site visit, he told Mosher to secretly pull out the tops. When Kaufmann later acknowledged what he had done, Wright showed him what Mosher had done and pointed out that cantilever has survived for the past month under test load without wall support.
The main house was completed in 1938, and the guest house was completed the following year.
Cost
The initial cost estimate for building Fallingwater is $ 35,000. The final cost for the house and guesthouse is $ 155,000, including $ 75,000 for the house; $ 22,000 for finishing and furnishing; $ 50,000 for the guest house, garage and chamber; and architect costs $ 8,000. From 1938 to 1941, more than $ 22,000 was spent on additional details and for hardware and lighting changes.
The total cost of $ 155,000, adjusted for inflation, is equivalent to about $ 2.7 million in 2017. The cost of home restoration in 2001 is estimated to be $ 11.5 million (about $ 15.9 million in 2017).
Usage
Fallingwater was a family weekend home from 1937 to 1963, when Edgar Kaufmann Jr. donated the property to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. The family retreated in Fallingwater at the weekend to avoid the heat and smoke of the Pittsburgh industry. Liliane enjoys swimming in the naked and collecting modern art, especially the work of Diego Rivera, who is a guest in a country house.
Kaufmann Jr. said, "[Wright] understands that man is a natural being, then the architecture corresponding to nature will be in accordance with what is fundamental to man.For example, even though all Falling Water [sic] is opened by windows, the people inside are shielded as in deep cave, safe in the sense of a hill behind them. "
Maps Fallingwater
Design
Fallingwater stands as one of Wright's greatest works both for dynamism and integration with the striking natural environment. Fallingwater is described as the architecture of the tour de force of Wright's organic architecture. Wright's love of Japanese architecture is strongly reflected in the Fallingwater design, particularly in the importance of penetrating the exterior and interior space and the strong emphasis placed on harmony between man and nature. Contemporary Japanese architect Tadao Ando has said about the house:
I think Wright learned the most important aspects of architecture, space maintenance, of Japanese architecture. When I visit Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, I find the same space sensitivity. But there is an extra sound from nature that appeals to me.
An organically designed private residence is meant to be a natural retreat for its owners. This house is famous for its relationship with the site. Built on an active waterfall that flows beneath the house.
The fireplace fireplace in the living room integrates the stones found on the site and where the house was built - a stone ledge that jutted up the foot through the living room floor remaining in place to show the outer connection with the inside. Wright originally meant that the ledge was cut flat to the floor, but this was one of the Kaufmann family's favorite places, so Mr. Kaufmann suggested to be left that way. The stone floors were lit, while the fireplace was left plain, giving the impression of dry stones protruding from the river.
The integration with the settings even extends to the small details. For example, where glass meets a stone wall, no metal frames are used; on the contrary, the horizontal glass and splitter are confronted in a niche embedded in the stone so that the stone walls are not disturbed by the glass. From the cantilever's living room, the staircase leads directly down the river, and in the connecting room connecting the main house with the guest and the waiter's level, the natural spring sprinkles the water in it, which is then redistributed. The rooms are small, some with low ceilings to push people out into open, deck and outdoors social areas.
Bear Run and the sound of the water seep into the house, especially in the spring when the snow melts, and the locally mined stone walls and the cantilevered terraces that resemble nearby rock formations are meant to be aligned. The design incorporates spacious windows and balconies that extend into their surroundings. In keeping with Wright's view, the main entrance is far from the waterfall.
On the hillside above the main house stands a four-bay carport, a servant's quarters, and a guest house. The built-in outdoor building was built two years later using the same quality materials and attention to detail as the main house. Guest rooms have a pool of springs overflowing and flowing into the river below.
Wright initially planned to make the house blend with nature in rural Pennsylvania. As such, he limits his color choices to two colors, light ocher for the concrete and red Cherokee signature for steel.
After Fallingwater was transferred to the public, three car parks flanked toward Kaufmann Jr. to be used by museum visitors to view the presentation at the end of their tour at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (where the house is entrusted). Kaufmann Jr. designing its own interior, for the specifications found in Fallingwater's interior by Wright.
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
After the death of his father in 1955, Edgar Kaufmann Jr. inherited Fallingwater, continued to use it as a weekend retreat until the early 1960s. The more concerned with ensuring the preservation of Fallingwater, and following his father's wishes, he entrusted Fallingwater and about 1,500 hectares of land to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in recognition of his parents. Edgar Jr. guided organizational thinking about the administration, care and education programs of Fallingwater and was a frequent visitor even when the guided general tour began in 1964. Kaufmann's partners, architect and designer Paul MayÃÆ' nà © n, also contributed to the Fallingwater heritage with designs for site visitor centers, completed in 1981. The house attracts over 160,000 visitors from around the world every year.
Preservation in Fallingwater
Fallingwater has shown signs of deterioration over the past 80 years, largely due to exposure to moisture and sunlight. The severe freezing conditions of southwestern Pennsylvania and water infiltration also affect structural materials. Due to this condition, a thorough cleaning of exterior stone walls is done periodically. The various areas of the house are repainted as needed as part of a continuous stone treatment.
Six Fallingwater bathrooms are lined with cork tiles. When used as flooring material, the cork tile is waxing the hand, giving them a shiny finish that complements their natural ability to resist water. Over time, the cork has begun to show water damage at locations where water leaks persist. The Conservancy continues to restore this surface by removing the damaged cork and returning the concrete underneath it from water damage before applying the new cork tile.
In addition, the Fallingwater structural system encompasses a series of bold cantilevered balconies. Pronounced deflections of concrete cantilevers are noticed as soon as the formwork has been removed at the construction stage. This deflection continues to increase over time, and eventually reaches 7 inches (180 mm) over a range of 15 feet (4.6 m).
In 1995, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy commissioned the Fallingwater structural integrity research. Structural engineers analyze the kantile movement over time and conduct radar studies of cantilevers to locate and measure reinforcement. This shows that the contractor did add to the reinforcement of Wright's plan; Nevertheless, cantilevers still have not been strengthened. An architectural firm was hired to fix the problem. Both the concrete and the steel reinforcement are close to the limit of failure. As a result, in 1997, temporary girders were installed under cantilevers to carry their loads.
In 2002, the structure was fixed permanently using post-tensioning. The main floor blocks of the living room are marked and released separately. Blocks are connected to cantilevered concrete beams and floor beams, high-strength steel cables are inserted through exterior concrete blocks and walls and tightened by jack. The floor and walls are then restored, leaving the interior and exterior look of Fallingwater unchanged. Today, cantilevers have enough support, and the deflection stops. The Conservancy continues to monitor movements in the cantilevers.
Imagery in popular culture
- Fallingwater inspired Vandamm's fictional home in Mount Rushmore in the 1980 North Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest .
- The concert of Michael Daugherty's composer in 2013 for violin and string orchestra, "Fallingwater", was inspired by the house.
See also
- Kaufmann Desert House, another Kaufmann residence
- Kentuck Knob, another Wright-designed residence in the same area
References
Bibliography
- Trapp, Frank (1987). Peter Blume . Rizzoli, New York. Ã,
- Hoffmann, Donald (1993). Fallingwater Frank Lloyd Wright: Home and History (2nd ed.). Dover Publication. ISBNÃ, 0-486-27430-6.
- Brand, Stewart (1995). How Learning Buildings: What Happens After They're Built . Penguin Books. ISBN: 0-14-013996-6.
- McCarter, Robert (2002). Fallingwater Aid (Architecture in Detail) . Phaidon Press. ISBNÃ, 0-7148-4213-3.
Further reading
- Donald Hoffman, Fallingwater: Home and History (Dover Publications, 1993)
- Edgar Kaufmann Jr., Fallingwater: Frank Lloyd Wright Country House (Abbeville Press 1986)
- Robert McCarter, Fallingwater Aid (Architecture in Detail) (Phaidon Press 2002)
- Franklin Toker, Fallingwater Rising: Frank Lloyd Wright, E. J. Kaufmann, and America's Most Extraordinary House (Knopf, 2005)
- Lynda S. Wagoner and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Fallingwater: The Romance of Frank Lloyd Wright With Nature (Universe Publishing 1996)
External links
- Official website
- the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy website
- Record Architecture article article
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Photos
- List of National Register nominations
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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