Fallingwater Restoration Summary

 Background

Frank Lloyd Wright, arguably America's greatest architect, designed Fallingwater in 1935 for Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann and his wife Liliane. Designed when Wright was 67 years old, it more than any other building of its time stretched the limits of design and technology to provide a modernist yet romantic response to the International style. Engineering studies completed in the late 1990s concluded that the cantilevers, for which the building is so famous, were seriously overstressed. Other conservation needs included: waterproofing roofs and terraces; treatment of severely corroded steel sash windows and doors; conservation of the collection of Frank Lloyd designed furniture; bringing safe drinking water and sewage treatment to the Fallingwater site; and restoration of a landscape that suffers from rogue paths, eroded hillsides, widened roads, and the proliferation of exotic invasive plant species.


Fallingwater Restoration-Description of the Work

The House
Structural Repair of the Living Room cantilevers
The Living Room cantilevers were successfully strengthened in March 2002. In order to access the cantilevered reinforced concrete beams and joists, the collections, built-in furniture, stone pavers and redwood subfloor were removed. After the concrete beams and joists were exposed, non-destructive testing was used to assess the structure and revealed a series of significant cracks on the east terrace. These cracks necessitated a modification of the plan that included the replacement of 3 joists, the addition of one reinforced concrete joist, and the design and placement of one more east-west post-tensioning monostrand. Designed by Robert Silman and Associates, P.E., New York, the post-tensioning occurred in a measured fashion over two days and, as anticipated, lifted the main level of the house approximately ½". No windows were cracked or broken and the historic cracks on the master terrace were closed.

Other
Strengthening of the main floor cantilever is clearly a dramatic aspect of the building's restoration; however there are many other vital components that were repaired or restored that will ensure the long-term preservation of this National Landmark. They include:

  • Installation of an expansion joint where the canopy meets the guest house
  • Restoration and repair of the corroded, and in some locations inoperable, steel sash that comprises the framing of the windows and doors throughout the building
  • Conservation of all interior built-in and free standing Frank Lloyd Wright designed furniture and woodwork that has been damaged by ultraviolet light, high humidity and water penetration over the past 60+ years
  • Restoration of the badly corroded steel supports and spalled concrete treads of the stairs that connect the living room to the stream
  • Waterproofing/ roofing of all terraces and flat roofs to properly shed water
  • Cleaning and repointing the exterior stone wallsStructural strengthening of Edgar Kaufmann, Sr.'s cantilevered terrace with carbon fiber (scheduled for January and February 2003)

The Landscape
Fallingwater exemplifies Wright's concept of organic architecture-the harmonious union of art and nature in which the house and the landscape are inextricably tied. WPC engaged the landscape architecture firm of Andropogon in Philadelphia to develop a comprehensive landscape master plan. Marshall Tyler Rausch of Pittsburgh was then engaged to implement the Andropogon plan. The goals of the plan are:

  • To reinforce and maintain the essence of the Fallingwater experience-the connection between the house and the landscape
  • To enhance the visitor's direct experience of the house and site
  • To assure the careful management of Fallingwater's fragile natural resources so they can be preserved and the quality of the visitor's experience maintained
  • To restore the health and quality of the surrounding ecosystem.

By taking into consideration the particular use and special character of the setting and the site as a whole, the restoration of the landscape addresses both the exceptional visitor experience and the continued viability of the environment. Fallingwater with its remarkable marriage of site and building has the potential to demonstrate both a new ecological aesthetic, where the place is the inspiration for what is built, and a deeper meaning for stewardship, where ecological understanding is the basis for fostering the health of the ecosystem.


Stewardship of Site
In order to resolve critical infrastructure issues, WPC will be installing a state-of-the-art sewage treatment facility with zero discharge and hook into public water system once the lines are extended to Fallingwater. We have received confirmation that the public water supply will be coming through by the end of the year.

Construction has begun on a new wastewater treatment system. The new system will replace the various disposal systems now in use by reclaiming wastewater generated at the site. During the summer and fall of 2001, new lines were installed throughout the Fallingwater site to replace the existing 65-year-old ones. The new lines will carry water, sewage, recycled water and fiber optics. The engineering firm of CH2MHILL was retained by the WPC to design and construct the new program which features a ZENON treatment plant, a proprietary system designed to treat the wastewater to a quality suitable for reuse on-site for the following uses:

  • Toilet flush water at the Visitor's Pavilion, Bear Run Barn, Watershed Assistance Center, and Administrative and Maintenance buildings.
  • Irrigation of a restored cutting garden to be located where the Kaufmann's original garden was in the meadow opposite the boardwalk leading from the Pavilion to the house. The garden will also be used as an interpretative site for the reclaimed water system.
  • Irrigation of a portion of a forested area located above Fallingwater in the Bear Run Reserve.

We anticipate the plant to be fully operational by Summer 2003.


Read The Plan To Save Fallingwater by Robert Silman, An Article from Scientific American http://www.rsapc.com/projects/fallingwatersa.pdf

Fallingwater Restoration-Cost Breakdown
The restoration of Fallingwater and its landscape was approached in three specific areas: preservation of buildings and collections; landscape and stewardship of site; and visitor program improvements. The $11.5 million costs can be roughly divided among all three of these categories.

Fallingwater Restoration-List of contractors, foundations, contributors, etc.

The Fallingwater Restoration Team includes:
Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates, New York, NY and Washington, D.C. (http://www.rsapc.com)
Post-Tensioning Consultant: Schupack Suarez Engineers, Inc., Norwalk, CT
Post-Tensioning Contractor: VStructural, LLC, Springfield, VA
Construction Manager: Dick Corporation, Pittsburgh PA (http://www.dickcorp.com/dickcorp/)
Architect: Wank Adams Slavin Associates, LLP, New York, NY
Roofing and Waterproofing Contractor: J.L. Robinson, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
Stairs to Stream and Shoring Removal Contractor: Worcester Eisenbrandt, Inc., Baltimore, MD
Carbon Fiber Strengthening Contractor: Structural Preservation Systems, Inc., A Structural Group Company, Elkridge, MD
Wood Conservator: Thom Gentle Consultants, North Adams, MA
Steel Sash Conservator: Seekircher Steel Window Repair, Scarsdale, NY
Landscape Architects: Andropogon Associates, LTD, Philadelphia, PA; Marshall Tyler Rausch, LLC., Pittsburgh, PA
Buried Utilities Engineer and Construction Manager: CH2M Hill, Pittsburgh, PA and Herndon, VA
Buried Utilities Contractor: Target Drilling Inc, Jefferson Hills, PA
Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Engineer: CH2M Hill, Pittsburgh, PA and Herndon, VA.
Fallingwater Maintenance Staff


The Restoration of Fallingwater is made possible by the generous support of the following:

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS
· Individuals from all 50 states as well as Canada


FOUNDATION GRANTS
· Anonymous
· Brooks Foundation
· Dominion Foundation
· Eden Hall Foundation
· F.J. and S.T. Pasquerilla Foundation
· Getty Grant Program
· John S. & James M. Knight Foundation
· Millstein Charitable Foundation
· R. K. Mellon Family Foundation
· Raymond John Wean Foundation
· The Alexander C. & Tillie S. Speyer Foundation
· The Drue Heinz Trust
· The Eberly Foundation
· The Kresge Foundation
· The Laurel Foundation
· Vira I. Heinz Endowment
· W.H. and Althea F. Remmel Foundation

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
· A Save America's Treasure Grant as administered by the National Park Service, Department of   the Interior Department of Housing and Urban Development
· Housing and Urban Development #1
· Housing and Urban Development #2
· National Endowment for the Arts


STATE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
· Commonwealth of PA - Capital Budget
· PA Historical and Museum Commission

OTHER SUPPORT
· Estate of Paul Mayen
· PPG Industries, Inc.

For more information on Fallingwater, click here.