Thursday 7 March 2013

Falling for Fallingwater

The Art:
Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater" in Pennsylvania

The Story:
If you've ever read Ayn Rand's book, The Fountainhead, you should visit Fallingwater.
If you haven't, you should still visit Fallingwater.

Really.

I was first introduced to FLW when I was a Fine Art student at university, and I went to Buffalo to tour one of his homes. But I really didn't have much of an appreciation for what I was seeing at the time.
Maybe years give you perspective, or maybe you just become more aware of real vision once you realize how rare it is. In any case, fast forward 30 years or so and I found myself on a road trip to Pennsylvania, having made it my mission to see Fallingwater.


Let's start by saying that if you aren't looking for it, you won't accidentaly stumble onto Fallingwater. Located about 90 minutes south of Pittsburgh, you need to drive through the middle of Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands, a beautifully wooded, very hilly part of the state, before you reach the road to the house. It's not that Wright was purposely trying to hide the house – he was just building where the owners already had their country getaway. The fact that there's nothing much around is what adds to the beauty and peacefulness of Fallingwater.

From the first view of the house, cantilevered over a creek terracing into waterfalls, to the built-in sectional couches, this house has been done Wright (pun intended). Whether you call him a control freak, an obsessive perfectionist or an arrogant megalomaniac, Frank Lloyd Wright executed his vision down to the smallest detail, from the integrated rockface fireplace surround to the choice of colour on the modern/retro furniture.

I'm no expert on architecture but visiting this place can't help but elicit descriptors like 'harmonious', 'tranquil', and 'inspiring'. My husband, a contractor, had a more practical perspective, but there was one word we both agreed on: enviable. Because I couldn't help feeling just a little jealous of the Kaufman family that called this place theirs until 1963.

A dream cottage, a work of art, an architectural game-changer? You can decide. All I know is that like Branjelina when they visited, I am smitten.  Maybe not enough to buy my husband a waterfall of his own like Angelina did for Brad, but that's just as well. Because, as my husband assured me - with building restrictions these days, you couldn't build it "to Code".

Well there goes his birthday surprise.

The Fact:
Getting a little 'alone time' with Fallingwater is near impossible if you're not a celebrity. But you can get ahead of the crowds if you book a brunch tour that gets you into the property first and ends with a brunch on one of the terraces. Just be sure to do it during the summer before it gets too cold for dining 'al fresco'.


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