falling water architecture

8/8/2019 Falling Water Architecture

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What is Architecture?

The word architecture has twomeanings. Architecture is:

1. The activity of designing andplanning buildings

2. The style of a buildingEvery building is built for a reason.

Some buildings are meant to belived in, while others are built to be

businesses, schools, palaces, and

more! We can learn a lot when welook closely at buildings, especially

about the people who built or lived in them, how theywere built, and what they were used for. Buildings come in all shapes,sizes, and materials. Some buildings are so beautiful or interesting, they become famous!

Can you think of any famous buildings?

Fallingwater is the name of a

very special house that is builtover a waterfall. Frank Lloyd

Wright, Americas most famousarchitect, designed the house

for his clients, the Kaufmannfamily. Fallingwater was built

between 1936 and 1939. Itinstantly became famous, and

today it is a National HistoricLandmark.

Why is it so famous? Think about it! A house that doesnt even appearto stand on solid ground, but instead stretches out over a 30 waterfall.It captured everyones imagination and was in newspapers, books, andmagazine covers like Time in 1938.

Architecture of Fallingwater

Family Fun at Fallingwater


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BUILDING WITH NATURE

The houses terraces echo the

pattern of the rock ledges belo

When the Kaufmanns first looked at Wrights drawings, they were veryurprised! They thought their new house would have a wonderful

iew of the falls. But instead, with the house right on top of the falls,

was very difficult to even see them. But not to hear them! Frankoyd Wright told them that he wanted them to live with the

waterfalls, to make them part of their everyday life, and not just to

ook at them now and then.

Wild animals live near

it. Trees surround it.Water swirls

underneath. Huge

boulders rest at itsfeet. Architect FrankLloyd Wright designed

Fallingwater to be in

harmon with nature.

When Wright first visited theBear Run property he wasshown areas suitable for a

new house, the falls with its

several cascades and large,smooth rock surface for

basking. Wright designed ahouse like nothing ever seen

before. He wrote a letter toEdgar Kaufmann saying he

was so stirred by the settingthat he wanted to create a

building that would be anaccompaniment to the music

of the stream.

Look at the building.What sounds do you hear?


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Wright used only 4 materials to build Fallingwatersandstone, reinforced concrete, steel and glass. Canou find all of them?

ll the stone at Fallingwater was quarried about

00 feet west of the waterfalls. Workers put up thetone in a rough, shifting manner so it would look

ke rock coming right from the ground. Do youhink the way the stone is arranged joins the house

with the land? Why or why not?

Wright chose the pale ochre color of theconcrete to match the back of a fallen

rhododendron leaf. Can you find a fallen lea

on the ground that matches the color of thepaint?

You can see steelthroughout the hoin railings, shelves

and windows anddoors. Wrightdecided to have th

steel painted red tremind people of t

red color of iron o(which steel is maof) and also of the

fiery method usedcreate steel. Wha

color would you pathe steel? Why?

Wright used a lot of clear

glass to allow the outside toflow freely into the inside.

At certain times of day, the

glass becomes veryreflective and reminds somepeople of the mirror-like

surfaces of a calm pool ofwater. At night, the glass

seems to disappear.


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ShapesBuildings are made up of many different shapes and lines.

How many of these geometric shapes can you find at Fallingwater? Where are they?

pentagon rectangle semi-circle square

Fallingw ater Challenge!

Explore the outside of Fallingwater, then try toanswer these questions. Answers are below:

1. If your footstep is about 1 foot long, how longis the bridge that leads to Fallingwater?2. Look from the bottom of waterfall all the wayto the top of the hill. How many stories isFallingwater?3. Can you count higher than 100? If so, trycounting the number of windows and glassdoors on Fallingwater. How many can youfind?

4.Fallingwater is built of a few simple materials.How many can you find?Answers:

With special thanks to our friends at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art for helping develop this gui

www.ringling.org

Wright used a semi-circle toallow a tree to grow through

the trellis nearFallingwaters front door.Where else do you seearchitecture cooperatingwith nature?

1.The

bridgespans

over28feet.

2.

TheMainHouseis

3stories,p

lusa

partialbasement.

TheGuestHouseis

2stories,including

theServants

Quarters.

3.Alot!

4.

Thereare4basic

materials

reinforced

concrete,stone,

stee

l,andglass.

falling water architecture

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