A classic piece of architecture, the Fallingwater House is simply one of the most outstanding precedent in the world. Living up to its architect's reputation, Frank Lloyd Wright as one of the leading prominent architects for the last century, it resonates beauty and organic, lying in Pennsylvania, the United States. It served as a weekend home to a succesful businessman, Edgar Kauffman Sr. and his family for over 25 years.
The anecdote where Wright was asked to design the house was indeed interesting. It started when Wright was invited after an itemization of utopian model city to the house of Kauffman, 'La Tourelle', a masterpiece by a local architect, Benno Janssen. Wrigth, without subtlety remarked to Kauffman's son who is also an architecture student of his, Edgar Kauffman Jr., loud enough intending to be overheard by his parents, "Edgar, this house is not worthy of your parents." The boldness of Frank Lloyd Wright is simply powerful and intriguing that Kauffman then contacted Wright to propose a weekend house on one of his property outside Pittsburgh.
The main element of this house is the geographical value of the site. The property site that was intended to build the weekend house was around waterfall, at which to the client's surprise and then approval, the architect decided to have the house on top of the waterfall rather than facing it, hence dubed Fallingwater. The house constructed with little mean to not affect too much on the surrounding of the nature. The house make use of different cantilevers adjacent to each other creating different planes levetating on top of each other. This feature somehow blends nicely with the nature surrounding, organically imitating the formation of stones around the active waterfall that appear to come out beneath the house.
Compliments to Japanese architecture, Wright inspired to create the interior space to be interpenetrate with the exterior of the house, creating harmony between nature and human, according to Tadao Ando. Accustomed with Wright's own unique style and perception of architecture, the house is indeed organic and compliments the nature.
Personally, I want to hate the building for reason that it blends with the environment of nature too much, making use of the beauty of nature rather than the purpose of design. But, the design of the house does not seem to fade or made transparent by the magnificent of the nature. On the contrary, the house stands out and the architecture design definitely transfers beautifully. Fallingwater is one house that remains to inspire people and gives a good literal meaning of great art and architecture. An icon.
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