Pfeww! For a second there, I thought I was going to be stuck critiquing a painting for my blog. Which to be honest, I'm not sure I could do it considering that art is not my expertise. I was able to let out a sigh of relief once I saw the picture of Fallingwater on page 21 though. I may not be an expert on architecture either, but at least I have some appreciation for it.
Look at this house! Its absolutely stunning! From the first time I laid eyes on it I fell in love with it. I'm normally not a big fan of houses that are so defined in their edges and have that modern look, but there is something about this house that I absolutely adore...the setting. Wright built a house that looks like it belongs in the city and incorporated it in such a way so that it meshes with nature. It fits perfectly with the wooded area that it resides in. Its in perfect harmony with the natural stone all around it...especially the rock cliff that it seems to be built into in the back of the house. Lastly, the waterfall-house relationship is what makes this place a National Historic Landmark.
Wright said, "To use any material wrongly is to abuse the integrity of the whole design". When designing Waterfall, he truly used everything in the surrounding natural landscape to add to the overall design of something so pristine and rustic, yet so elegant.
This video gives a little background on Fallingwater, and it is very informative. The one thing that absolutely blew me away is that you can't see the falls from anywhere in the house! As the video suggests, Wright did this because he didn't want the view of the falls to become "commonplace". So to be able to view them you must hike a little ways to clearing. Also, he said elsewhere that he wanted the sound of the falls and the woods to intrigue one to paint their own scenery...to use their imagination a little bit and appreciate not only the sights of the landscape but the sounds.
Do you think that this adds or detracts to the appeal of the house?
