The Stairs to the Stream: Taking Steps to Complete Fallingwater's Restoration
The
restoration of Fallingwater’s stairs to the stream renews Frank Lloyd
Wright’s emphasis on the close relationship between the house and
the water and enhances the “back-to-nature” experience that
the Kaufmanns relished at Bear Run.
The extreme deterioration of the stairs to the stream necessitated their
complete reconstruction. Rust, buckling of the early stair columns (on
more than one occasion) prior to their strengthening in 1955, and excessive
loading from previous flood conditions all took their toll. Cast-in-place
concrete treads with stainless steel reinforcing and hanger straps have
been installed and, as shown in the photo, the formwork was removed last
week. Once again the stairs, almost an abstraction of the waterfall, cascade
in the opposite direction of Bear Run’s flow in a graceful but empathetic
gesture of counterpoint first revealed in Wright’s earliest sketches
and allow the building “to associate directly with the stream.”
Fallingwater's Curator of Education Sarah Beyer snapped the above photo a week ago on February 20th.
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