Fallingwater
American architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed Fallingwater in 1935, in rural Mill Run Pennsylvania, as a vacation home for the Edgar J. Kaufmann family, owners of Pittsburgh’s largest department store. The Fallingwater site was originally a Masonic summer camp complete with cabins, tennis court, running track, clubhouse, and swimming pool.
The house reveals the most daring use of cantilevered concrete. The Kaufmann family initially wanted a home that would overlook a waterfall, but instead Wright designed the house directly on top of the waterfall, with a strongly horizontal tiered appearance that mimicked the rocky levels of the waterfall. The house is therefore constructed with two 15-foot-wide rectangular cantilevers that form a stepped terrace directly over the water and a 6-foot-wide concrete slab cantilevered out from a bedroom to create a porch. (Palmer, 2008)
Fallingwater’s main house was built mostly by local craftspeople in 1936-38, followed by the guest house construction in 1939.The main house totals 9,300 sq. ft., of which 4,400 sq. ft. is outdoor terraces, while the guest house totals 4,990 sq. ft. of which 1,950 sq. ft. is outdoor terraces.
Only two colors were used throughout the building: a light ochre for the concrete and Wright’s signature Cherokee red for the steel.was The original estimate for the house $35,000. The final total cost of construction was approximately $148,000 with an additional $11,300 in architect’s fees.
Although reinforced with steel and supported by parapets, the walls began to crack over the years and were not fully repaired and reinforced until 2002. (Palmer, 2008) Another project to protect from water intrusion costing $7 million neared completion in 2026.
Today the house is a UNESCO World Heritage site and available for tours with reservation.