House over the waterfall interior. "House Over the Waterfall" by F. L. Wright

Organic architecture is a whole philosophy based on the ideas of harmonious coexistence of man and the environment. The founder of this style was the American architect F. L. Wright, who created his own school, where future architects study in the 21st century.

organic architectural style

Any architecture is created according to certain physical and aesthetic natural laws, as well as according to the rules of geometric constructions in the Euclidean coordinate system. Unlike traditional objects built in rectangular shapes, organic ones are based on the concept of inscribing the building into a single living complex with the surrounding landscape and nature.

Organic Architecture Challenge ( organic architecture, lat.) that the form of the structure and its placement should be in harmony with the natural landscape. Only natural materials are allowed.

This architecture has 3 main aspects:

environmentally friendly materials that are safe for humans;
the bionic form of the object;
use of the natural landscape.

The founder of this style is the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who developed and supplemented the theory of his mentor Louis Sullivan.

F. L. Wright and his objects

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959 ) over 70 years of creativity created and translated into reality the theory of the composition of architecture as an organic integral space, which is completely inseparable from its environment. The idea of its continuity is based on the principle of free planning and is widely used by modern architects.

According to the projects of F. L. Wright, country mansions and residential buildings were built, as well as public buildings, during the creation of which he used the principle of overflowing spaces. In total, during his creative life, he managed to design 1141 buildings, including not only residential buildings, but also churches, schools, museums, offices, etc. Of these, 532 projects have been implemented, and 609 are at an unfinished stage.

In addition to F. L. Wright, he also designed furniture, fabrics, art glass, tableware, and silverware. He also became famous as a teacher, writer and philosopher, having written 20 books and many articles, actively promoted his ideas by lecturing in various regions of the United States and Europe.

One of Wright's projects, devoted to the development of decentralized American cities on the example of Broadacre, continues to be discussed by scholars and writers of the 21st century.

The main building materials used are stone, bricks, wood and concrete. Their natural texture is an additional decorative technique that creates an impression of the integrity and naturalness of the object and nature. For example, a concrete wall fits in like a rock in the middle of a forest. The stone facade is often made of rough blocks, the floors are made of rough granite; if logs, then only rough and uncouth.

One of the main ideas of organic architecture - integrality, or wholeness, is designed to create the impression of a constructed object as a single whole, not divided into details. Minimalism and the desire for simplicity are welcome, the smooth flow of one room into another. It was Wright who came up with the idea to combine the dining room, kitchen and living room into a single whole using an open plan.

Instead of a large amount of decor and variety in color design, a limited amount of materials is used with a large building area and the maximum degree of glazing is used.

Wright architecture principles

The new doctrine of the evolution of architecture was formulated by L. Sullivan, taking into account the provisions of biological science in the 1890s. It was later embodied and refined by his follower, F. L. Wright, in the 20th century.

The main principles of organic architecture formulated by Wright:

to use as much as possible straight lines and streamlined forms when designing a building, the proportions of which should be as close as possible to human for a comfortable life in it;
develop the minimum required number of rooms in the house, which together should form a closed space, permeated with air and freely visible;
linking the structural parts of the building into a single whole, giving it a horizontal extension and emphasizing a plane parallel to the ground;
leave the best part of the surrounding landscape outside the object and use it for auxiliary functions;
it is impossible to give the house and rooms the shape of a box, but to use the flow of one space into another with a minimum number of internally divided rooms;
instead of a foundation with utility rooms, there should be a low plinth at the base of the building;
entrance openings must correspond to the proportions of a person and be placed naturally according to the scheme of the building: instead of walls, transparent enclosing screens can be used;
during construction, strive to use only one material, not to use a combination of various natural textures;
lighting, heating and water supply are designed as components of the building itself and its building structures;
the interior and furnishings should have a simple form and be combined with the elements of the building;
do not use decorative design in the interior.

Architectural style and human needs

The famous psychologist A. Maslow developed a general hierarchy of human needs, called the pyramid:

physiological (proper nutrition, clean air and environment);
feeling of security;
family;
social recognition and self-respect;
spiritual.

The goal of creating any object in an organic style in architecture is the realization of all levels of the Maslow pyramid, especially the most important of them - the self-development of the person for whom the house will be built.

According to the concept of F. L. Wright, when designing and building a house, great importance is attached to personal communication with the customer and the creation of such a living space for him that would satisfy all his spiritual, social, family, physiological needs and provide the necessary security.

Architectural career and Prairie Houses

F. L. Wright's career began at the Adler & Sullivan Architecture Company of Chicago, founded by the ideologue of the Chicago school. Then, in 1893, he founded his own firm, in which he began designing his first houses. Already in his initial works, a clear perception of spatiality can be traced, in which he “spreads” all the houses along the ground.

At the beginning of his activity, Wright was engaged in the construction of private mansions for clients. Great fame was brought to him by the "Prairie Houses", which were built in 1900-1917. and created using the principles of Wright's organic architecture. The architect created the objects using the ideal of the unity of the building and nature.

All houses are made with an open horizontal plan, the roof slopes are taken out of the building, finished with raw natural materials, terraces are laid out on the site. Like Japanese temples, their facades are rhythmically divided by frames, many houses are built in the shape of a cross, where the center is a fireplace, and around is an open space.

The architect also designed the internal interiors on his own, including furniture and decor, pursuing the goal of fitting them organically into the space of the house. The most famous houses: Willits, Martin, Robie's house, etc.

At the beginning of the 20th century F. L. Wright achieved great popularity in Europe, where he released in 1910-1911. two books about the new organic style in architecture, which marked the beginning of its spread among European architects.

"Taliesin"

Own dwelling, or "Taliesin" ( Taliesin) F. L. Wright built in his style in 1911, and it became his longest project, which was repeatedly completed and altered. A house was being built from local limestone among the hills of northwestern Wisconsin, in a valley that had previously belonged to relatives of his family. The name comes from the name of an ancient Welsh druid and translates as "luminous peak".

Taliesin was designed according to all the principles of organic architecture on a hillside surrounded by trees. The building embodies the idea of a harmonious unity of man and nature. Horizontally located window openings alternate with creeping rows of roofs and wooden railings that serve as interfloor fencing. The interior of the house was created by the owner himself and decorated with a collection of Chinese porcelain, antique Japanese screens and sculptures.

There were two fires in "Taliesin" - in 1914 and 1925, and each time the house was rebuilt. For the second time, together with Wright, students who studied at his school participated in the revival of the house.

Wright School of Architecture

The official name of the educational institution established in 1932 is “Architectural School of F.L. Wright", but during the life of the organizer it was called the Taliesin partnership, which attracted young people who wanted to learn the principles of organic architecture of the 20th century. Workshops were also set up here, in which future specialists learned to process limestone themselves, cut trees and make the necessary parts for construction.

Another "Taliesin West" was founded in Arizona, where workshops, educational and residential buildings for students were built, and later - a library, a cinema hall and theaters, a canteen and other necessary buildings. The guests called this complex "an oasis in the middle of the desert". Many of Wright's students continued to work on various projects of the architect, others left and founded their own architectural firms.

In 1940, the F. L. Wright Foundation was founded, which still manages his school of architecture and prepares students for a master's degree in architecture.

Architect's personal life

The founder of the new architectural style, F. L. Wright, had a stormy personal life: in the past 92 years, he managed to get married 4 times and had many children. His first chosen one in 1889 was Catherine Lee Tobin, who bore him 6 children.

In 1909, he left his family and went to Europe with his future wife Maymah Botwick Cheney. After returning to the United States, they settle in their own house, Taliesin, which they have built. In 1914, a mentally ill servant, in the absence of the owner, kills his wife and 2 children and burns down their house.

A few months after the tragedy, F. L. Wright met his admirer M. Noel and married her, but their marriage lasted only a year.

From 1924 until the end of his life, he was next to his 4th wife, Olga Ivanovna Lazovich-Gintsenberg, whom they signed in 1928. They had a daughter. After his death in 1959, Olgivanna managed his foundation for many years.

house above the waterfall

F. L. Wright became world famous for his country house in Pennsylvania, built by him on the order of the Kaufman family, built over a waterfall. The project was implemented in 1935-1939, when the architect began to use reinforced concrete structures in construction and learned to combine them with the romance of the surrounding landscape.

Having learned about the architect's decision to erect a building almost above the waterfall, civil engineers unequivocally came to the conclusion that it would not stand for long, because according to the project, water flowed directly from under the foundation. Meeting the requirements of the client, Wright additionally strengthened the house. This building made a huge impression on his contemporaries, which helped the architect increase the interest of his customers.

The building is a composition of reinforced concrete terraces, vertical surfaces are made of limestone and placed on supports above the water. The house above the waterfall stands on a cliff, part of which remains inside and is used as an interior detail.

The attraction house, which still impresses with its construction techniques, was renovated in 1994 and 2002, when steel supports were added for strength.

Public buildings designed by F.L. Wright

In 1916-1922. the architect takes part in the construction of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, in which he widely used the ideas of the integrity of structural elements, which helped the building withstand the 1923 earthquake.

In the 1940s and 50s, Wright used his style to build public buildings in the United States. The most famous examples of organic architecture are the Johnson Wax headquarters located in Racine (Wisconsin) and the S. Guggenheim Museum in New York (1943-1959).

The structural basis of the central hall of the Johnson Wax company is "tree-like" columns, expanding upwards. The same structure is repeated in the laboratory room, where all the rooms are grouped around the “trunk” with elevators, and the floor slabs are combined in the form of squares and circles. Lighting is provided through transparent glass tubes.

The apotheosis of Wright's architectural creativity was the building of the museum, which was designed and built over the course of 16 years. The project is based on an inverted spiral, and inside the structure looks like a shell with a glass courtyard in the center. Inspection of the exposition, according to the architect's idea, should take place from top to bottom: having taken the elevator under the roof, visitors then gradually go down in a spiral. However, in the 21st century the museum management abandoned this idea, and the expositions are now viewed in a standard way, starting from the entrance.

The style of organic architecture in the 21st century

The revival of modern organic architecture in the design and construction of buildings is facilitated by architects from many European countries: Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Poland, etc. All of them adhere to the principles of organic unity of space and nature developed by F. L. Wright, enriching modern architectural trends with their creativity and embodying philosophical and psychological ideas of building real structures as living objects designed for a comfortable and harmonious life of people.

A unique country house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in southwestern Pennsylvania, 80 kilometers southeast of the city of Pittsburgh - in a picturesque area called Bear Creek.

Wright, a passionate admirer of Japanese architecture, managed to create an object saturated with dynamism and very successfully fit it into the natural and very picturesque nature. The building completely merges with the surrounding nature and is perceived as part of the landscape, and not as something alien to it. In this creation, Wright focuses on interpenetrating external and internal spaces, symbolizing the harmony between man and nature.

Wright's masterpiece has been called "undoubtedly the most famous home in modern America, if not the world." Almost immediately after the completion of construction, the American magazine Time called the "House over the Falls" "Wright's most beautiful work." Another American magazine, the Smithsonian, included The Falls House on its list of "28 Places to Visit Before You Die". In 2007, the building was ranked twenty-ninth on America's Favorite Architecture list.

After the well-known American writer Henry Lewis told readers about the "House over the Falls" from the pages of leading American magazines, this place became a cult one. Visitors flocked here from all over the country. Among them were many celebrities of those years: Albert Einstein, Ingrid Bergman, William Randolph Hearst, Marlene Dietrich. The fame of this amazing building even reached the President of the United States - Franklin Roosevelt. The president, despite his busy schedule, still managed to find time to see this architectural marvel with his own eyes. In total, the House over the waterfall has already been visited by more than 6 million people.

Where did modern private architecture come from.

Plus video:

Wright's Core Principles

To reduce to a minimum the number of necessary parts of the building and the number of separate rooms in the house, forming the whole as a closed space, subdivided in such a way that the whole is permeated with air and freely visible, giving a sense of unity.

1. To connect the building as a whole with its site by giving it a horizontal extension and emphasizing planes parallel to the ground, but not occupying the best part of the site with the building, thus leaving this best part for use, for functions related to the life of the house ; it is a continuation of the horizontal planes of the floors of the house, extending beyond its limits.

2. Do not make the room a box, and the house - another box, why turn the walls into screens that enclose the space; ceilings, floors and enclosing screens should overflow into each other, forming one common enclosure of a space with a minimum of subdivisions. To make all the proportions of the house closer to human, a constructive solution with the least consumption of volume and the most appropriate for the materials used, and the whole, thus, the most suitable for living in it. Apply straight lines and streamlined shapes.

3. Remove the base of the house, containing the unhygienic basement, from the ground, place it completely above the ground, turning it into a low plinth for the living part of the house, making the foundation in the form of a low stone platform on which the house should stand.

4. Bring all the necessary openings leading outward or inward in accordance with human proportions and place them naturally in the scheme of the entire building - either in a single form, or in groups. Usually they act as transparent screens instead of walls, because the whole so-called "architecture" of the house is expressed mainly in the way these openings in the walls are grouped into rooms as enclosing screens. The interior as such now takes on a significant architectural expression, and there should be no holes cut into the walls like holes cut into the sides of a box. "To make holes in the walls is violence."

5. Eliminate the combination of different materials and, as far as possible, strive for the use of one material in the construction; do not use decorations that do not follow from the nature of the material, so that the building more clearly expresses the place in which they live, and so that the general character of the building clearly testifies to this. Straight lines and geometric shapes correspond to the work of the machine in construction, so that the interior naturally takes on the character of machine production.

6. Combine heating, lighting, water supply with building structures so that these systems become an integral part of the building itself. The elements of the equipment thus acquire an architectural quality: here, too, the development of the ideal of organic architecture is manifested.

7. Combine with the elements of the building, as far as possible, furnishings, as elements of organic architecture, making them one with the building and giving them simple forms corresponding to the work of the machine. Again straight lines and rectangular shapes.

8. Exclude the work of the decorator. If he does not bring styles to the rescue, then he will definitely use “curls and flowers”.

And one more thing: Wright's "commandments" addressed to young architects.

1. Forget about all the architectures in the world if you don't understand that they were good in their kind and in their time.

2. Let none of you enter into architecture for the sake of earning your living, if you do not love architecture as a living principle, if you do not love it for its sake; prepare to be faithful to her, as mother, friend, yourself.

3. Beware of architecture schools in anything but engineering.

4. Go to the factory, where you can see the machines and mechanisms that produce modern buildings, or work in practical construction until you can naturally move from construction to design.

5. Immediately begin to develop the habit of thinking "why" about everything you like or dislike.

6. Take nothing for granted beautiful or ugly, but dismantle each building piece by piece, finding fault with every feature. Learn to distinguish the curious from the beautiful.

7. Acquire the habit of analyzing, in time the ability to analyze will enable the development of the ability to synthesize, which will also become a habit of the mind.

8. “Think in simple terms,” as my teacher used to say, meaning that the whole is reduced to its parts and simplest elements on the basis of first principles. Do this in order to go from the general to the particular, never confusing them, otherwise you will get confused yourself.

9. Bane the American "quick turnaround" idea. To go into practice half-baked is to sell one's innate right to be an architect for lentil stew, or die claiming to be an architect.

10. Take your time to finish your preparation. At least ten years of preliminary preparation for architectural practice is necessary for an architect who wants to rise above the average level in the ability to evaluate and in practical architectural activity.

12. Consider building a chicken coop as good a job as building a cathedral. The size of the project means little in art, apart from financial issues. Expressiveness is taken into account in the actual calculation. Expressiveness can be big in small or small in big.

You should not put everything in life on a commercial footing, and precisely because you happened to live in the age of machines. For example, architecture today stalks the streets for sale, as "getting a job" has become the first principle of architecture. In architecture, the job is to look for the person, not the person for the job. In art, work and man are partners; none of them can be bought or sold to others. In the meantime, since what we have been talking about is the highest and most beautiful kind of integrality, hold your own ideal of honesty so high that the most important thought of your ambition in life is to call yourself an honest person and look yourself straight in the eye. Hold your ideal of honesty so high that you yourself cannot achieve it.

[F.L. Wright. "The Future of Architecture". State publishing house of literature on construction, architecture and building materials. Moscow - 1960]

The house above the Falls hangs over the bear stream like some kind of alien structure.
He boggles the imagination. From here, from the spurs of the bear stream, is actually the best
its tectonics is visible.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed everything in his head, using blueprints only to confirm
what he has already presented in full. Therefore, he was not particularly worried that one September
day in 1935 learned that his client Edgar J. Kaufman was going to arrive at his
Taliesin studio to see the long-promised project "Houses over the waterfall".
There were no blueprints.

The same drawing by Frank Lloyd Wright that Kaufman bought into.

Wright sat down at the drawing board and without hesitation drew a general plan, as well as a vertical and horizontal
projections, completely finished.

His drawing, but from the side of the slope adjacent to the house. Flawless perspective.

When Kaufman arrived and saw the project, he was stunned. From this day on - in spite of terrible difficulties
in technical terms, furious arguments and huge expenses - Kaufman remained inspired by this project.
The House Above the Falls inspired him for the rest of his life.

Kaufman and his wife used to spend weekends in a picturesque place near the waterfall on Bear Creek,
in the woods west of Pennsylvania. When they asked Wright to design a replacement for their small
prefabricated house, he proposed to create a house based on all those stones from which they fished and on
who rested while swimming. At first, this idea seemed to them doomed to failure; house no doubt
will destroy its own raison d'être. But Wright was confident that he would improve nature.
His confidence was based on the principle of the console, and on the material he had once been wary of:
reinforced concrete.

On this staircase, which, as it were, follows from the lower tier of the terrace, you can go down to the platform,
overhanging the surface of the stream. In autumn, when the flow of water becomes larger, its surface
almost touches the ground. The feeling is extraordinary, as if you are standing right on the water!

It was supposed to build a large and spacious house, but it was supposed to go out not to the river bank, but
straight up into the air above the waterfall. Structurally, the terraces of the house were supposed to resemble leaves.
rhododendron hanging over the river, or an amazing, but at the same time, a natural type of tinder fungus.
They had to be held as a natural continuation of the river bank in the form of walls and pillars.
from the stone quarried there.

In the exterior, the House Above the Waterfall seems to cling to the surrounding rocks. Merged together rounded
concrete beams and rough, angular stone layers create a bizarre symbiosis, giving rise to a feeling
stability, seemingly unstable by definition of the structure.

These plans were victoriously implemented. Without destroying the beauty of this place, the house is
the embodiment of harmony between man and nature.
In a different setting, the huge terraces might seem aggressive and boastful; here they are
look natural and inevitable, as if this is a way of building some unknown tribe.

The interior of the house also lets in the theme of textured stone and plastic concrete, but the premises
do not look like dark stone caves due to wide, panoramic windows. Moreover, in
Pennsylvania is generally warm.

The premises in the house are quite traditional: a large single living space and four spacious bedrooms.
But rooms are of secondary importance compared to the complex multi-layered organism of concrete
terraces and stones holding them. Sometimes the rooms are carved into the stones, sometimes they represent
sections of the terrace, fenced with glass walls in steel frames. The elements of the building are intricate, but
without any special "bells and whistles", since they correspond to the general plan: the flight of stairs descends
from an opening in the floor of the living room and soars directly above the surface of the stream; three tree trunks
sprout right in the floor of the western terrace; an uncut boulder protrudes from a stone-paved floor
like a rock on which a house was built. This finishing touch was proposed by Kaufman himself and
immediately fully approved by the architect.

From the inside, from the side of the covered part of the terrace, the stairs to the water can be closed with such a cunning design
so that the cold from the water does not penetrate inside. By the way, notice the contrast between angular, embossed, almost
sharp stone, and soft rounded lines of concrete. Great example of character development
material in architecture.

But in order to live in such an architectural masterpiece, you have to pay dearly, as in a psychological,
as well as in a material sense. For many years after the completion of the Kaufman house
anxiously watched as the structure cracked and sagged.

The architect reacted quite differently to the vegetation that surrounds the house. If into a rock, into a stone
the building bites in, clings to it with all his might, then the trees gently, carefully bypass their openwork
concrete structures.

Engineers were regularly invited to inspect the building, who also regularly advised to support
console racks. Of course, that would ruin the whole idea. Kaufman did not give up, and the house was preserved
almost in the form in which it was created, now protected by the Society for the Conservation of Nature of the Western
Pennsylvania.

Source - tartle.net/grivarius

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright

« house above the waterfall (Villa Kaufman), Bear Run, pc. Pennsylvania, 1935

We were as lucky as drowned men with Mr. Kaufman's villa - it rained all day in Pennsylvania. Although, how to say? I remember many years ago my colleague Sasha Mikhailov assured that after rain the tree trunks darken and black verticals emphasize the flying horizontal planes of the House above the waterfall. Hmm... Maybe it looks like this in winter, but in early autumn the crowns are still full of greenery, and you can only see the most iconic villa of the 20th century in the foliage grid.

The first 4 hours of our journey flew by quite cloudlessly, but we drove up to Bear Run in a dense wall of rain. It was suggested that in such weather we were unlikely to be disturbed by large crowds of tourists.

But these hopes were dashed as soon as we saw two large, densely packed parking lots.

There were too many tourists. This is probably always the case, since special pavilions are built for waiting, where you can relax after a long journey, have a bite to eat and buy an abyss of largely useless things with the logos of Wright and his Villa.

After coffee, those who are unfamiliar with the work of the maestro can partially replenish their knowledge without leaving the cafeteria.

In the remaining time, it is pleasant to stroll through the surrounding forest, looking at the multicolored wet leaves in the grass.

We bought tickets for the tour in advance on the Kaufman Villa website. Upon arrival, we registered and received a pager in our hands, which told us about the collection of our excursion group. So after half an hour of waiting, we finally set off to look at the house, not forgetting to grab umbrellas from the Wright Foundation along the way, which were placed everywhere at the entrances and exits.

First stop near the bridge over the backwater at the waterfall. A general excursion into the history of the villa, a few words about the greatness of Wright, the first photographs and a warning that photography is strictly prohibited inside.

In the last moments before entering, everyone is envious and considers the lucky ones, who are already pushing umbrellas on the large terrace.

Therefore, after getting inside - first of all on that very terrace ...

Look at the waterfall from above. And, alas, it is almost non-existent. Not a season.

The house is almost impossible to rent because of the dense umbrella curtain.

With difficulty I make my way into the corner and take a couple of pictures of Wright's famous corner windows.

If you know, he was also a famous lover of Japanese art.

In the interior, they still manage to take a few pictures, until it turns out that security cameras are placed throughout the house.

I get a scolding from the guide and, unfortunately, I hide the camera in a wardrobe trunk.

Therefore, the rest, including the absolutely amazing guest house, remains only in memory.

But after getting out of it, you can pull back and click whatever you want.

Thus, frames appear that, as a rule, are not published in books.

This is a passage under the house and an open passage to the guest house.

The rain is trying to interfere, but we absolutely do not care. After so many decades of waiting, nothing can spoil the holiday.

We return to the starting point of the tour. After hanging around here for a while, you can take a dozen well-known photographs.
But the main shooting point is still ahead.