Fallingwater
Facts
Fallingwater is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most acclaimed works – a house boldly cantilevered over a waterfall in the western Pennsylvania mountains. It is a supreme example of his concept of organic architecture, which promotes harmony between man and nature through design that integrates a building with its natural surroundings. Inspired by natural sandstone ledges at the waterfall, Wright designed Fallingwater as a series of reinforced concrete trays set on native sandstone columns and walls to rise more than 30 feet above Bear Run. This daring construction has long captivated architects and the general public alike, both for Wright’s use of modern technology and for his obvious love of nature. Fallingwater’s patrons, the Edgar J. Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh, shared Wright’s outlook, and found personal renewal in the house’s free-flowing interior spaces, open vistas and outdoor terraces.
The
family used Fallingwater as a vacation retreat from 1938 until 1963,
when Edgar Kaufmann, jr., entrusted it to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy,
the region’s oldest conservation organization. Fallingwater opened to the public as a museum
in 1964, greeting more than 3.5 million visitors from all over the world
since then.
One
of “50 Places of a Lifetime” National Geographic Traveler Magazine
1991 poll
of members of the American Institute of Architects
National
Trust for Historic Preservation
National
Historic Landmark, 1976
United
States Department of the Interior
Builder’s
Magazine Reader’s Choice Survey
