This past weekend Mom, Dad, Busia, Aleah and I all piled into the car to visit Confluence, PA. Once we arrived I found out that the Airbnb we were staying at didn’t have any internet! I didn’t have long to dwell upon this horrific realization because almost as soon as I put my bags down I was whisked out of the house and back into the car to visit a well known house called Fallingwater. Fallingwater was designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright also designed another nearby house, called Kentuck Knob, which we visited the day we left.
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect who is famous today for his style of blending nature with his designs. His designs are still popular today, leading many architects to copy him. He was born in 1867 and died in 1959. He is regarded as one of the greatest architects of the 20th century, and Fallingwater, which he designed, has been called the best all time work of American architecture.
The first of the two houses he built in the area that we visited was the famous Fallingwater. It is so called because about half of the house is floating over a waterfall. Wright took inspiration for the houses design from nearby rock formations full of overhangs. Using cantilevers, which are projecting platforms only supported on one end, he was able to create the illusion that the double layered balcony is floating above the water. The house was commissioned by the Kaufmann family after their son met Frank Lloyd Wright while attending one of his architecture schools.
Kentuck Knob is another of Wright’s well known houses. It was commissioned by the Hagens after visiting Fallingwater to see their good friends, the Kaufmanns. It is clearly designed by the same man, but it is obviously its own house. The two biggest similarities between the two is how Wright uses mostly natural light to illuminate a room, and what artificial light is needed is dim and not out in the open. The other big one is his use of compression and release. In areas where you are not usually meant to linger, such as the hall, he makes the ceiling low, so that you are naturally funneled to areas such as the living room and dining room. Some differences that I noticed however are that Kentuck Knob, in my opinion, looks much more similar to the Frank Lloyd Wright house that I saw in Arizona a few years ago than Fallingwater did. The general shape of the house, with a large courtyard and the woodwork is what really makes me think the two are similar. Fallingwater is owned by a foundation, while Kentuck Knob is privately owned by an Englishman, although nobody lives in either.
We did many other fun things while away from Pittsburgh, which I’m sure Aleah is writing about even as I type, so I guess I’ll leave that for her. Frank Lloyd Wright was an interesting man, and he was clearly an amazing architect, with over 1,000 houses, some of them even UNESCO heritage sites. Although I still don’t quite understand why they are that important they are certainly very interesting tours, which I highly recommend.
I loved reading your observations. I also loved visiting these sights many years ago. I think I am due for another visit!