The trees were left in place whenever possible and the use of the native materials, principally sandstone quarried onsite, are harmonious with the entire unit. The cantilevers over the stream make it seem as if a cliff has extend out over the edge of a waterfall.

The building fits into its surroundings as if it grew there. Today it still amazes the thousands of visitors who trek through the nature preserve where the home sits. Where Wright could have designed a log cabin or hunting lodge for the Pittsburgh millionaire, he chose to put forth what must have been a radical design for its time. I am drawn to this home because of the distinctiveness of the design. Wright’s use of the linear coupled with the ultra modern design was then married to a Prairie School style, utilizing nature and natural materials whenever possible. The use of cantilevers to extend the home out into space and span the river below was innovative and rarely if every seen in a private home. While Frank Lloyd Wright pioneered the Prairie School, his Fallingwater home, while linear in the Prairie tradition, is ultra modern and stands alone as a tribute to the genius of Wright as an innovator. Reinforcement work began in 2001 after major studies were undertaken to determine the best methods to shore it up. Both terraces began to sag downward toward the river beneath the building (Structural Group 2005).

The sixteen one-inch rebars were not sufficient reinforcement for the design’s load.

It is unfortunate but engineers have determined that the structure is not sound, which does not detract from the aesthetics but after fifty years the structure needed major work to keep it from falling into the river. A fundemental part of the structure is the soffit slab, which integrates with the girders and acts as a load carrying T beam. They form the primary support for the main level terrace.

Frank lloyd wright waterfall house