Home Above Fallingwater
The House Over the Fallingwater is a celebrated architectural masterpiece by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is located in the state of Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh – Bear Run on Route 1 in Fayette County. It is the most famous of the works of American architects, proof of the possible harmony of man and nature.
Video: House Over the Falls
Background
Wealthy Pittsburgh businessman Edgar Kaufmann commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build a country residence near the city in Pennsylvania. Kaufmann wanted an unpretentious home overlooking a waterfall.
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Wright asked permission to visit the site of the future construction and inspect the waterfall, all the boulders and trees. He then designed one of his most famous creations, which the American Institute of Architects proclaimed to be “the finest work of an American architect of all time”. It is a stunning example of organic architecture, a harmonious fusion of man and nature through design. Replicating the natural topography of the surrounding cliffs, Wright built the house above the waterfall in the form of several concrete “trays”, using sandstone slab material for the walls. Rising more than 9 meters above the waterfall, the clear horizontals and low ceilings of Wright’s structure create a sense of security without disturbing the surrounding landscape..
Completed in 1939, the house is the only Wright project with original furnishings and artwork designed by himself that is open to the public. The house exhibits a collection of fine art, books, furniture, and other busy artifacts collected by the Kaufmann family from the 1930s through the 1960s. Creations by Audubon, Tiffany, Diego Rivera, Picasso, Jacques Lipchitz, Richmand Barthes, and Japanese artists Hiroshige and Hokusai can be seen here.
.The museum has seen over 2 million visitors since it opened in 1964 – book tickets in advance.
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