Visitors to Fallingwater can expect celebrations and observations of the globally recognized building’s 90th anniversary this year. More importantly, they can expect some of the best views available in years, thanks to the completion of an ambitious preservation project.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Vision, Preserved for a 90-Year Anniversary Celebration
To oversimplify: Fallingwater is all about the angles. Frank Lloyd Wright not only considered the building’s relationship with the landscape around it, he considered how that landscape would look from inside it — how the windows in each room would pull the eye, how the sound of the cascading water would interact with the air and mood on each level of the structure.
Such precision, however, requires preservation — particularly waterproofing, as nine decades have taken a toll on the building. For the past three years, that meant for an ongoing — but very necessary — restoration project. Now, visitors can see the fully restored Fallingwater after unveiling the fruits of that project on May 1.
“The goal of any restoration project is that you shouldn’t notice that any work was actually done,” says Justin Gunther, Fallingwater’s director (and vice president of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy). “The house should just look as it’s supposed to look so you’re not going to be surprised by all of the work that was done — because the goal of restoration is just to restore it to its original conditions.”
Conservators worked to minimize the impact of the project on visitors. Inevitably, though, the renovation temporarily altered some of those thoughtful angles and interactions with nature.
“We tried to do the most invasive, disruptive work during the wintertime when we were closed, but we couldn’t avoid doing some of the work during the tour season,” Gunther adds. “There were some visual disruptions, some noise disruptions to the experience — but people were patient with us.”
Gunther stresses that they used tours during the restoration project as an opportunity to highlight the needs of preserving a site like Fallingwater. Now, though, visitors can appreciate every visual and auditory effect that Wright intended as workers have removed the scaffolding.
A Major Anniversary for a World Heritage Site
Part of the goal was to complete the work on Fallingwater, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, in time for this year’s 90th-anniversary celebration.
Observations of the site’s anniversary range from large — including a signature gala scheduled for August — to very intimate
“We do these intimate conversations in front of the fireplace in the living room for 15 people,” Gunther explains. The first, with New York Times critic and curator Alastair Gordon — “a leading architectural historian on modernism,” Gunther says — is happening on June 23. The second, with “star-chitect” Charles Renfro, is on September 24. (Although the venue offers limited space for these intimate events, organizers also stream them on YouTube.)
Events like those appeal “to the more intellectual side of a designer or an architect that really wants that in-depth experience of an architectural landmark,” Gunther says. Closer to Pittsburgh — and for a larger audience — is a celebration with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra, set for Sept. 26 at the MCG Jazz Music Hall, featuring original compositions about the site and Wright’s work.
There’s No Bad Time to Visit Fallingwater — But Now Is a Very Good Time
While the anniversary — and the fruits of an important restoration project — provide a good excuse to schedule a trip to Fallingwater, you really need no occasion. For architectural aficionados, it’s one of the most famous and remarkable homes in the world; for those with no knowledge of architecture whatsoever, it’s equally impressive.
“Self-discovery is a part of the experience; the guide is just there to help you along that self-discovery path,” Gunther says. Tour guides ask visitors what they notice, pointing out details that add richness and detail — but ultimately, the experience belongs to the individual viewer.
And it’s a beautiful one.
“This is a site that has mass appeal. No matter who you are, you can find a connection to it.”
Story by Sean Collier
Photo Courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy