FALLING WATER HOUSE

Frank Lloyd Wright

PRESENTATION // ANIKA SETHI

Mill Run, Pennsylvania LOCATION
 CONTENTS

01. INTRODUCTION
DESCRIPTION, AREA , TYPOLOYGY

02. PRESENTATION
SITE PLANS, SECTIONS, PLAN, BUILDING
PROFILE

03. ANALYSIS
CONCEPT, CIRULATION, CLIMATE,
MATERIAL.

04. CONCLUSION
BASED ON THE 10 THEMES OF ANALYSIS
 01.
INTRODUCTION
Typology : Residential-single family house ‎
Area: 7030 square feet
INTRODUCTION
• Description: Falling water was a weekend house for the Edgar J. Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh, owners of
Kaufmann's Department Store.
• Design and construction: Designed in 1935 by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), the main house
was constructed 1936-38, followed by the guest house construction in 1939.
• 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 Falling water.
Only two colors were used throughout: a light ochre for the concrete and his signature Cherokee red for the steel. PPG
Paints has worked with Falling water 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.
• Visitation: 4.5 million people since opening our doors in 1964, with 167,270 visitors in 2015.
• Preservation: The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has preserved Falling water since 1963, with a major structural
repair in 2002 strengthening Falling water's cantilevers to prevent collapse and future deflection.
• Surroundings: Surrounded‎by‎the‎WPC’s‎5,000‎acre‎Bear‎Run‎Nature‎Reserve.
• Final cost: $155,000‎(Included‎$8,000‎architect’s‎fees,‎and‎$4,500‎for‎installed‎walnut‎furnishings).
02.
PRESENTATION
SITE PLANS, SECTIONS ,
PLANS ,BUILDING PROFILE
SITE PLAN AND SECTION SITE SECTION

SITE SECTION

GUEST WING
SITE SECTION
MAIN WING

SITE SECTION
Orientation and slope
Site orientation: NW-SE
E-W(Main Building),SW-NE(Guest house)
Slope: Downward slope
SITE PLAN
Method of construction: Split level
 PLAN
• The expansive open space of the falling water 6
makes it a space conductive to the natural world 4
around it.
3 1
• Based on design philosophy of the organic
architecture the house unites the natural forms
and features of the site with the rigidity of the
architecture.
• The incorporation of the rock hillside into the 5
2
floor of the living room and the situation of the 5
house over the stream and waterfall are two of
the many examples that are present within its
design. 1. Entrance
2. Living area
13 3. Dinning area
4. Kitchen
5 9 11 9 5. Terrace
10 12
6. Staff room
7 5 7. Master bedroom
9 8 5 8. Guestroom
9. Toilet
10. Dressing room
11. Study room
5
12. Bed area
13. Passage to the guest
wing
 BUILDING PROFILE
• The building appears to be floating in the mid
air.
• Use of the cantilevers made it possible to
extend the house out over the waterfall in the
background creating a special dynamic
between the structure and nature.
 03.
ANALYSIS
CONCEPT, PLANES , CIRULATION, CLIMATE,
MATERIAL
 CONCEPT
• The concept was based on Organic Architecture stemmed from his
Transcendentalist background. The belief that human life is part of
nature.

• The Japanese element of using the leaf gold colour on the walls to
• The contouring of the house into cantilevered ledges responds so
sympathetically to the rock strata of the stream banks that it does
make Bear Run a more wondrous landscape than it had been before
Wright further emphasizes the connection with nature by liberal
use of glass; the house has no walls facing the falls, only a central
stone core for the fireplaces and stone columns.

• Wright even bows to nature by bending a trellis beam to

accommodate a pre-existing tree.

• Architect’s creative use of “corner turning windows” without

mullions causes corners to vanish.
 ANALYSIS
• Use of horizontal and vertical planes to
create houses unique cantilevered floors.
• The load bearing stone walls rise from the
hill side through the roof and in addition
to the supporting the floors they also add
an aesthetic part of the house.
• Instead of dividing spaces through walls
the space is defined through the use of
floors of differing heights, whether it is
the different levels themselves, or sunken
areas in the main floors.
CIRCULATION
Horizontal movement
Vertical movement
 CLIMATE
• Type- humid continental climate
• Temperature variation- 2 - 21degree C
• Sky conditions - The wet season is overcast.
• Precipitation – 1000mm in the form of rain and some times snowfall.
• Humidity – very high humidity
• Winds – major effect of westerly winds.
• Vegetation – oak, hickory, yellow poplar, walnut, and elm dominate.
 MATERIAL
All materials are locally sourced and the landscape
indigenous to the area
1. FLOOR- The floor is covered with a dark color local
stone .

2. WALLS- The local porous shale stone

It increases the thermal mass of the house so it traps heat in the
day and releases it at night when it is cooler.

3. OPENINGS - Continuous glazed openings with steel

frames painted with red oxide paint showing its natural
color.

4. ROOF – roof and parapets of concrete in gold leaf

color.
Reinforced concrete slabs and thick stone pillars are the major structural
element of the structure.
CONCLUSION
Based on the 10 themes of analysis …
01 BASIC ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE
• The building stands on a Large boulder as the supporting platform,
• It consists of walls which define a cell, and columns which
separate the space on the ground floor.
• The columns together with the walls of the cell support the roof
and the large cantilever terrace.
• The cell is entered through a doorway, outside of which is a small
narrow passage to enter .
• Some places are divided by thick walls and columns.
• Together the floor, walls, columns, defined areas , identify the
place as a floating cottage.
02 MODIFYING ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE
• Colour: the gold leaf colour that is used as an inspiration from
Japanese art which wright used in this project to portray purity and
serenity.
• Temperature and ventilation: The cold weather gave way to fire
place and windows on the south façade and open terrace towards the
waterfall which allows ample of light and ventilation during winter
and monsoon season.
• Sound: the placement of the structure over the waterfall gave a great
sense of acoustics during different times of the year provided by the
quantity of flow of water during winter , summer , autumn and
monsoon season.
• Texture: The rough texture of the walls and the floor creates a sense
of continuation and connection to the outside scrape and rough
texture of the rocks that are around the site.
• Scale: the scale of that is used as a human scale to provide warmth
an comfortable environment.
• Proportion: The proportion of the horizontal spaces is considerable
large to the height of the areas which generates the movement of the
eye directing outside .
03 ELEMENTS DOING MORE THAN ONE THING
• The living and the dinning area are rectangular and they are supported by huge pillars
with not only act as structural member but also creates a transition between the two
sitting areas.
• The floor of the first floor serve as a roof to the ground floor and also provides shading
to the inner space. And it acts like terrace for the upper floor
04 USING THING THAT ARE THERE
• The stream is connected to the house with the staircase where one can actually sit spend time to contemplate and feel
the flowing water and see it.
• The rock that lay in the living area is actually a boulder that supports the floor and also add up as a connective element
of the outside.
• The direction of the front façade was placed towards the falls make it appear floating in the air.
05 PRIMITIVE PLACE TYPE
• This house is built above a waterfall. Its floor
platforms and flat roofs echo the horizontal
strata of the surrounding rocks. The symbolic
power of the hearth was important in many of
Wright’s designs for houses. Though it does
not provide all the heating, it is the social
focus and heart of the house. Set against, and
on, the rock of the waterfall itself, it is as if
the hearth has escaped from the containment
of the cell and returned to its place in the
natural landscape.
06 ARCHITECTURE AS FRAMING ELEMENT
• The first frame is created as we reach the bridge.
• All the spaces are built to human scale
• Frame is created when we are on the bridge
• Another frame is created as we entre the ground floor.
• A very interesting frame is made when we are on the opposite side of
the falling water house.
07 TEMPLE OR COTTAGE
The‎archetypal‎‘cottage’
• The ordinary: a sacred place on the placed over the waterfall
• The space is divided according to the pragmatic requirements , its form is
not ideal dictated by geometry and no symmetrical axis
• The cottage type shows the attachment from the found world which is
manifested here in terms of local material use.
• The unevenness of the sight is incorporated in the ground
• Not detached from the landscape , its floor merges with the boulder on
which it is placed and the neighboring rock is used as a wall
• It provides shelter for people
• Its architect has responded to climate: it has large terrace roof to sit in the
available outdoors, and is located to find what protection there is from trees,
and from the lie of the land. Its relationship with the sun is not one of setting
up a significant axis, but maybe a matter (in a cool climate) of taking
advantage of its warmth, or (in a hot climate) of providing shade from its
heat.
• The scale of the ‘cottage’ relates directly to the actual size of people. This is
particularly evident at doorways and the ceiling height from the floor.
• The ‘cottage’ provides for bodily needs and functions. it accommodate
many different pragmatic requirements. In response to these the layout is
not formal, but complex and irregular.
• It accepts the processes of time—wear and age and additions are always
done
10 SPACE AND STRUCTURE
• The structure system used is trabiated system.
• Foundation: the land on which the house is located has an
abundance of rocks at ground level, which serve as the
foundation of the building and additionally solid trapezoidal
section supports were placed embedded in the rock.
• Horizontal structure: reinforced concrete beams on the
floor on the supports (approx. 1m wide), which, together
with transverse beams formed a grill on which the terrace is
held in cantilever.
• Vertical structure: rectangular shaped columns built by a
summation of Cerramiento rocks
• Large horizontal windows: that integrate the exterior
with the interior.
VIEWS
RESOURCES
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDmlzRtyVNM
● https://fallingwater.org/media-resources/fallingwater-facts/
● https://www.architecturaldigest.in/?international
● https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-
americas/modernity-ap/a/frank-lloyd-wright-fallingwater
● https://www.dezeen.com/2017/06/07/fallingwater-frank-lloyd-wright-pennsylvania-house-
usa-150th-birthday/
● https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/pennsylvania/united-states/3208
● https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/fallingwater-house/#casa-cascada
● Analysing architecture by Simon unvin
THANK
YOU