While many of the country’s most impressive cathedrals, buildings, and houses reside in major metropolitan areas, one of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s (1867–1959) most notable works is in Mill Run, located in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands area, 75 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The Kaufmann family, who owned and operated Pittsburgh’s largest department store, commissioned Wright in 1935 to design their vacation house along a stream and over a waterfall. This became known as Fallingwater.
Wright realized for the Kaufmanns a 9,300-square-foot house, of which 4,400 feet are terraces. Two terraces are dramatically cantilevered up and over a 20-foot waterfall. Local craftsmen quarried native sandstone and other natural materials from the property. By 1938, the one-of-a-kind house, integrated into the natural rock ledges of the wooded landscape, was completed.
The house’s interior includes low ceilings and dark passageways that lead to light-filled, expansive common rooms. Wright’s design intention for all interior areas of the house was to direct occupants towards outdoor sensory experiences and the overall beauty of the woodland site. Native rhododendron-inspired hues were selected, such as a light ochre for the concrete. And the architect’s signature red was specified for the steel.
In 1963 Edgar Kaufmann Jr. donated his family’s vacation estate, including 469 acres of surrounding wilderness, to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
To marry the landscape with the architecture, Wright specified natural materials for Fallingwater’s construction as seen in the eastern elevation, including native stacked stone for various piers, walls, walkways, and the centerpiece chimney. The architectural design intends to hug the surrounding forest. (Christopher Little/Courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy)
As part of the living room at Fallingwater, the music space features Wright’s signature style of juxtaposing geometric shapes with natural textures, such as the modern upholstery and stacked stone. The unique seating provides a place to sit and listen to music from the nearby record player housed in a built-in cabinet. (Christopher Little/Courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy)
Instead of wood paneling or dry wall, the backdrop to many of Fallingwater’s rooms is hand-chiseled stacked stone from a quarry near the Pennsylvania mountain site. The other important details of this room, which serves as an open plan with living and dining room together, are the large portrait of the house’s owner, family patriarch Edgar Jonas Kaufmann, and Wright-designed furnishings, such as the room’s table and chairs. (Christopher Little/Courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy)
Wright designed clean-lined furnishings that provided function and comfort, but that also did not take away from views of the surrounding woodland and stream just beyond large windows and glass doors. The study was used by Edgar Kaufmann Jr. The study boasts a desk and floating shelves that blend seamlessly with the window and door frames. (Christopher Little/Courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy)
Stone walls, floors, and natural light are the defining features of this room, designed as an open-plan concept that Wright is credited with pioneering. His architectural goal with this space was to encourage gathering and functionality, as the room includes a two-sided desk as well as spacious seating areas, with the fireplace as a centerpiece. A symmetrical ceiling design draws the eye in this airy space. (Christopher Little/Courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy)
This view of a corner of the expansive living room zeros in on how Wright was able to create intimate niches, despite the roominess of the overall space. Earthy hues of terracotta, cream, and gold compliment the general floor and wall sandstone palette. The Kaufmann’s collection of art and textiles, carefully displayed on shelves and various surfaces, enliven the spaces with an eclectic modern aesthetic. (Christopher Little/Courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy)Would you like to see other kinds of arts and culture articles? Please email us your story ideas or feedback at features@epochtimes.nyc