Wednesday, October 16

Wanderlust Wednesday: Falling Waters

I was born in Pennsylvania and remember studying Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water in elementary school but being too young to go.. :/ You had to be at least nine years old.*
But ever since then I've always wanted to go some day.
(How gorgeous is this shot of it in the full thralls of Autumn by Robert Ruschak?)

"Home Facts:

  • Description: A mountain retreat for the Edgar J. Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh, owners of Kaufmann's Department Store:
  • Residents: Edgar Kaufmann Sr. (1885-1955), Liliane S. Kaufmann (1889-1952), and their son, Edgar Kaufmann jr. (1910-1989). The home was owned and used by the Kaufmann family until 1963, when it was entrusted by Edgar Kaufmann, jr., to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
  • Design and construction:Designed in 1935 by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) The main house constructed 1936-38, followed by the guest house construction in 1939
  • Final cost: $155,000 (Included $8,000 architect’s fees, and $4,500 for installed walnut furnishings)
  • Square footage: The main house uses 5,330 square feet. (2885 sq. ft. interior; 2445 sq. ft. terraces) while the guest house uses 1,700 square. feet.
  • Paint Colors: Wright's desire to create a unified and organic composition limited the color palette at Fallingwater. Only two colors were used throughout: a light ochre for the concrete and his signature Cherokee red for the steel. PPG Pittsburgh Paints has worked with Fallingwater to develop eco-friendly paints that withstand the environmental challenges of the site. They have also created a series of colors inspired by the building and its surroundings. For more information click here.
  • Visitation: 4.5 million people since opening our doors in 1964, with 160,950 in 2011.
  • Preservation: The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has preserved Fallingwater since 1963, with a major structural repair in 2002 strengthening Fallingwater’s cantilevers to prevent collapse and future deflection.
  • Surroundings: Surrounded by the WPC’s 5,000 acre Bear Run Nature Reserve.

Notable Facts:

  • Fallingwater was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, January 1938
  • Fallingwater is the only major Wright-designed house to open to the public with its furnishings, artwork, and setting intact
  • Frank Lloyd Wright once suggested that the house’s concrete surfaces be coated in gold leaf."

Frank Lloyd Wright is both mine and many others favorite architect for a reason... His work is simply amazing and speaks to the eyes and the soul.

If I ever get a chance to get up near there again I'm definitely going! Would you?

Kisses,

K

(Photo via Archdaily.com and © Robert Ruschak – Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Facts verbatim via fallingwater.org)

*I know, I know, I've always had a nerdy and artistic bent to me but I love that.

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