The most famous structure designed by America's most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater looks just as striking as it did in 1939.

1. ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS
- FALLINGWATER
BY KENNY SLAUGHT

2. When people think
about architectural
wonders, they generally
gravitate toward
massive projects and
iconic structures, such
as the Eiffel Tower or
the Sydney Opera
House.

3. However, many
architectural wonders
are far more modest;
rather than rising
hundreds of feet into
the air, they have earned
fame for their aesthetic
beauty or innovative
design.

4. Perhaps the most
famous of these works
is Fallingwater, the
masterpiece of
America's most
renowned architect,
Frank Lloyd Wright.

5. Completed in 1939,
Fallingwater has been
hailed by organizations
such as the American
Institute of Architects as
the preeminent example
of American
architectural
achievement.

6. Located in rural
Pennsylvania, situated in
the mountainous
countryside about an
hour away from
Pittsburgh, the property
hosts more than
150,000 visitors every
year.

7. Under the stewardship
of the Western
Pennsylvania
Conservancy,
Fallingwater has kept its
original artwork and
furniture, much of which
was designed by Wright
himself.

8. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT BEFORE
FALLINGWATER

9. Born in 1867, Frank
Lloyd Wright dropped
out of the University of
Wisconsin at Madison's
civil engineering
program to study
architecture under the
tutelage of Joseph
Silsbee.

10. He struck out on his own
as an architect in 1893
and quickly established
what came to be known
as the "Prairie School," a
style of architecture
typified by low,
horizontal single-story
structures made with
locally sourced, plain
materials.

11. Buildings like the
Frederick C. Robie House
quickly made Wright well
known among American
architects and European
tastemakers.

12. Following the turn of the
century, Wright took his
talents abroad to
Germany before
returning to America to
design and build his
estate, which he called
Taliesin.

13. The Great Depression
temporarily halted
Wright's work, and he
devoted himself to
teaching through his
Taliesin Fellowship and
writing his memoirs.

14. Any other architect may
have been content with
Wright's portfolio circa
1930, but it was the
buildings that came after
this period that would
end up elevating him
from a significant
architect to a veritable
celebrity.

15. THE KAUFMANN'S SUMMER CABIN

16. Source: rocor / License
One of Wright's
students at the
Taliesin
Fellowship, Edgar
Kaufmann Jr., came
from one of
Pittsburgh's most
prominent
families, which
owned Kaufmann's
Department Store.

17. Source: rocor / License
The Kaufmanns,
like many other
wealthy Pittsburgh
residents, kept a
summer retreat in
the mountains, but
the property was
relatively modest:
a rustic cabin
overlooking Bear
Run, a stream with
a 30-foot
waterfall.

18. Source: rocor / License
The once-remote
estate, however,
lost some of its
charm when a
newly paved road
brought the city's
traffic to the
mountains, and the
Kaufmanns
decided they
needed a proper
mountain retreat.

19. Source: rocor / License
Edgar suggested to
his parents that
Wright could
design such an
estate, and the
architect delivered
the first draft of
Fallingwater’s
design in 1935.

20. Source: rocor / License
Fallingwater was
decidedly original
from the first
sketches. While the
Kaufmanns
expected the
house to have
views of Bear Run’s
beautiful waterfall,
Wright instead
planned to build
the structure on
top of the
waterfall.

21. Source: rocor / License
His work had
always focused on
blending the built
environment with
the natural
environment, a
style
commentators
invariably refer to
as “organic,” and
Fallingwater was
the apotheosis of
this technique.

22. Source: rocor / License
The design called
for openings in all
directions,
including a
staircase from the
interior to the
stream itself.

23. Source: rocor / License
The low, cozy
rooms were
designed both to
make people feel
comfortable and
secure, but also to
encourage them to
leave the house to
explore the
outdoors.

24. Source: rocor / License
While most
accounts of
Fallingwater's
design include an
anecdote about
Edgar Kaufmann
Sr.'s initial dislike
of Wright's
decision to place
the house over the
falls, the men
smoothed over
their disagreement
and construction
began in 1936.

25. BUILDING A LEGEND

26. Source: Brian Donovan / License
In some ways,
Fallingwater was
simple; for example,
Wright called for the
use of exactly two
exterior colors:
"Cherokee red" for
the steel and a light
ochre for the
concrete.

27. Source: Brian Donovan / License
The aggressive
cantilevered design,
however, that gives
Fallingwater its
gorgeously strong
lines, proved much
more difficult.

28. Source: Brian Donovan / License
The local engineers,
contractors, and
Kaufmann himself
were skeptical of
Wright's belief that
unsupported slabs
would be safe, and
the workers
frequently attempted
to add more
supporting beams.

29. Source: Brian Donovan / License
One notable spat
involved Kaufmann
asking for a
supporting wall and
Wright calling for it
to be built
disconnected from
the slab, a bit of
theatre that
convinced Kaufmann
of the design's
safety.

30. Source: Brian Donovan / License
Ultimately,
Fallingwater cost the
Kaufmanns
$155,000, a price
equivalent to $2.6
million in 2014
dollars.

31. PROTECTING A LEGACY - FALLINGWATER
SINCE 1939

32. Source: Pablo Sanchez / License
The primary house
at Fallingwater was
finished in 1937,
with the guest
house following
two years later.

33. Source: Pablo Sanchez / License
The Kaufmanns
kept the home for
over 25 years
before entrusting
it to the Western
Pennsylvania
Conservancy.

34. Source: Pablo Sanchez / License
The decades that
followed saw
continual renovations;
sagging slabs and
cracking concrete
eventually required
reinforcement, and
this, along with other
issues, eventually
resulted in nearly $12
million in restoration
costs over the years.

35. Source: Pablo Sanchez / License
Today, Fallingwater
retains its original
appearance inside and
out, thanks in part to
post-tensioned steel
cables hidden under
the floors.

36. Source: Pablo Sanchez / License
Of course, the
restoration costs are
nothing compared to
the priceless value of
Fallingwater, a
building that also
functions as a work of
art.

37. Source: Pablo Sanchez / License
Its brilliance was
realized even before it
was finished, and it
appeared behind a
portrait of Wright on
the cover of Time
magazine a year
before the completion
of the property.

38. Source: Pablo Sanchez / License
Fallingwater has been
imitated in countless
ways, in every
medium from Legos
to a 1/1 millionth
scale silicon model.

39. Source: Pablo Sanchez / License
Wright went on to
design several more
notable buildings,
including the
Guggenheim Museum
in New York and the
S.C. Johnson Wax
Administration
Building in Wisconsin,
before his death in
1959.

40. Source: Pablo Sanchez / License
However, it is
Fallingwater that
remains his most
iconic contribution to
American
architecture—the
perfect example of a
philosophy that
emphasized buildings
existing in harmony
with their surrounding
environment.