Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. House (Fallingwater)

Architecture & history

Fallingwater is a house museum in Stewart Township in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania, United States. Designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, it is built partly over a waterfall on the Bear Run stream. The three-story residence was developed as a weekend retreat for Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr., the owner of Kaufmann's Department Store in Pittsburgh, and his wife Liliane. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC), which has operated Fallingwater as a tourist attraction since 1963, maintains 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) surrounding the house.

Edgar Kaufmann Sr. had established a summer retreat at Bear Run for his employees by 1916. When employees stopped using the retreat, the Kaufmanns bought the site in July 1933 and hired Wright to design the house in 1934. Several structural issues arose during the house's construction, including cracked concrete and sagging terraces. The Kaufmanns began using the house in 1937 and hired Wright to design a guest wing, which was finished in 1939. Edgar Kaufmann Jr., the Kaufmanns' son, continued to use the house after his parents' deaths. After the WPC took over, it began hosting tours of the house in July 1964 and built a visitor center in 1979. The house was renovated in the late 1990s and early 2000s to remedy severe structural defects, including sagging terraces and poor drainage.

The house includes multiple outdoor terraces, which are cantilevered, extending outward from a chimney without support at the opposite end. Fallingwater is made of locally–quarried stone, reinforced concrete, steel, and plate glass. The interior spans 5,330 square feet (495 m2), with the main entrance, the living room, two outdoor terraces, and the kitchen on the first story. There are four bedrooms (including a study) and additional terraces on the upper stories. Wright designed most of the house's built-in furniture. Many pieces of art are placed throughout the house, in addition to objects including textiles and Tiffany glass. Above the main house is a guest wing with a carport and servants' quarters.

Fallingwater has received extensive architectural commentary over the years and it was one of the world's most discussed modern–style structures by the 1960s. The house has been the subject of books, magazine articles, films, and other media works over the years. Fallingwater is designated as a National Historic Landmark, and it is one of eight buildings in "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright", a World Heritage Site.

Reference overview adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting adapted for Arch Moods.