Mill Run, PA, United States - April 18, 2014: One of Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous works, Fallingwater was designed in 1935 and completed in 1937. Remarkable in that it seems to hover over a 30-foot waterfall, it is an example of Wright's organic design style. The house is well integrated with the environment, with gravity defying cantilevered balconies.

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Fallingwater

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This Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece is simply one of the architectural wonders of the world. Completed in 1938 as a weekend retreat for the Kaufmanns, owners of a Pittsburgh department store, Fallingwater blends seamlessly with its natural setting, echoing and simultaneously threading its surroundings through its interior via terraces, ledges, cantilevering, circles and semi-circles. It's accessible only by guided tour, and reservations are recommended. The property also features 2000 acres of attractive forested grounds.

At a total of $155,000, Lloyd Wright's project was extremely over budget, although his commission was only $8000 (to give a sense of building costs at the time, master masons working on the home earned around 85¢ an hour). One of the home's most inventive features, which operates as a natural air conditioner, is the open stairway leading directly down to Bear Run stream. Photos can't do it justice – nor can they transmit the sounds of Fallingwater – and you'll likely need a return visit or two to really appreciate Wright's ingenuity and aesthetic vision.


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