Must-Know Modern Homes: Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater
Celebrate legendary Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece with an enchanted evening
Bud Dietrich, AIA
17 February 2022
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I am licensed to practice architecture in Illinois, Florida, New Jersey & Wisconsin. Since 1996 I have worked from my home office and provide full architectural services exclusively to the single family residential market. My passion is to transform my clients' houses into their homes. I strive to have the "new" home accommodate my clients' lives without fighting them at every junction. I look to add curb appeal to encourage a beautiful streetscape. And I design any addition to look and feel like it has always been there.
Our projects have won numerous design awards as well as having been featured on television (CBS News Sunday Morning, HGTV, CLTV, etc.), in magazines (Better Homes...
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located in the Tampa... More
There have been many times over the years that we’ve visited Fallingwater, a house located in the hills of western Pennsylvania. We’ve done the regular tour, a Sunday brunch tour and attended an evening reception there. In each occasion, Fallingwater never failed to enchant, enliven and teach.
The house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1930s for Edgar Kaufmann, a Pittsburgh department store owner, and in 1991 it was named the “best all-time work of American architecture.” In 1963 the Kaufmann’s son, Edgar Jr., entrusted the house, land and original furnishings to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which today continues as conservator of this remarkable building.
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Fallingwater, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, caretakers of Fallingwater, held “an enchanted evening” at the house on Friday, Sept. 17, 2011. (Learn more about the event here.) An evening reception at Fallingwater — with the house aglow like a lantern in the woods while the sounds of the waterfall, soft music and good conversation fill the air — would be like no other.
The house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1930s for Edgar Kaufmann, a Pittsburgh department store owner, and in 1991 it was named the “best all-time work of American architecture.” In 1963 the Kaufmann’s son, Edgar Jr., entrusted the house, land and original furnishings to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which today continues as conservator of this remarkable building.
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Fallingwater, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, caretakers of Fallingwater, held “an enchanted evening” at the house on Friday, Sept. 17, 2011. (Learn more about the event here.) An evening reception at Fallingwater — with the house aglow like a lantern in the woods while the sounds of the waterfall, soft music and good conversation fill the air — would be like no other.
The iconic view of the house can be had with just a short walk through the woods to an outcropping. In what can rarely be said about buildings, this house makes Mother Nature all the better for being there. It truly is the high point in Frank Lloyd Wright's quest for an "organic architecture."
The house hovers over the waterfall. At once connected and rooted to its site while seemingly ready to fly free and into the sky. Mrs. Kaufmann, an avid outdoors person, would fish from the stair over the waterfall.
The main living space features windows all around and a stone floor. Terraces overlooking the water are accessible from the right and left, expanding the space of the room to the outdoors. And though large, this room lives quite comfortably. This is a testament to Wright's ability to manipulate scale to get the desired effect.
In true Wright fashion, built-in seating provides a relaxing place to take a nap, read a book or share the company of friends and family.
The covering over the stair that leads from the main living room to the waterfall can be seen in this photo. When open, the sounds of the water rushing below fill the room. When closed, the water's sound is muted to a soft background song.
The central, vertical core of the house is built of local stone and houses fireplaces at each level, although none as grand as at the main living room. This fireplace, like those great hearths in Colonial America, gives a sense of welcome and warmth to the space. The large stone at the hearth has existed in this location for thousands of years, connecting the house to its site like no other.
From almost every room there is a sense of the stone core that rises from the site. Against this backdrop are places to relax and recharge. This was, after all, a weekend "vacation" home for the Kaufmann family.
The attention to detail is unsurpassed, as in the matching woods of the wardrobe. A testament to the close collaboration between architect and client.
What could be a better place to sit and write a letter to a dear friend while overlooking the stream below.
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I love the photos but would caution the folks about living there. He went all artsie and silly - from inside you see the trees but never the waterfall, rarely can you even see the pretty little stream. Is hearing enough for you? The bedroom over the living room has such a low ceiling I felt cheated of air and I’m only 5.2 inches. The width and breadth are also too small for a good vibe. Wrigh bragged about the wonders of the cavelike feel. No Frank, the room just “feels” bad. The bumpy living room floor? Yes Frank, ever so artzie and I pity the hired staff who had to clean it. I didn’t like walking on it either.
One house corner has two windows, one from each wall meeting but his engineering wasn’t up to his artistic sense and it leaked back when it was new. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it still does. I spoke to a German architect on tour when I was. He said Wright’s houses have many known failures of engineering .
The main entrance features another of his “fitting in with nature” innovations. The cement walkway is tinted green and stamps of various local leaves were pressed into the wet cement. Sounds good, right? Well, it looks childish in a bad way; not wood honoring but silly, even ugly.
Some of my criticism may be our modern love of light and space (air) in our buildings, and of “cozy” that is pretty. I’ve also sat in his design for a dining room chair and unless you like your chair back to cause your backbone to be a 90 degree angle to your chair seat for a whole dinner party, I don’t recommend it. I sat one time on Wright’s church bench in a Jewish synagogue in WI (sorry, long ago & I forgotten which city). The local members had raised the seat by placing TWO long 2x4s on top of each other to raise the seat higher but I still felt like my knees were too close to my face.
I continue to be amazed that some of Wright’s furniture and homes look so good but have such huge flaws and this rarely is printed. Go see for yourself folks.
PA born
L Roving,
You obviously are not an outdoor person. Your criticism of this Wright creation seems to take on a personal attack. Every design has flaws which will, with time, become evident. Building in SW PA, where tall trees and moisture are prevalent, will cause some building issues. Styles change and most Americans think they need to spend considerable money keeping up with the Jonses. I have been to Falling Water 6 times and it is a relaxing experience. I love the tree canopy and the stream sound. The house was built over the waterfall so that the view would not become mundane. To view the fall, you need to take a short walk into the forest.
I suggest you get some life experience and mature as a person.
Thanks for sharing. Everything is just so beautiful. I visited there ten years ago, and I want to go there again.