A Documentary Journey Through Frank Lloyd Wright's Revolutionary Architecture - Yanko Design

"When Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann commissioned Wright to design their Pennsylvania weekend retreat, they expected a house with a view of their favorite waterfall. Wright had other ideas. He placed the entire structure directly above Bear Run's cascading waters, explaining simply: "I want you to live with the waterfall, not to look at it." Concrete terraces cantilever dramatically beyond their supports, mimicking the natural rock ledges of the stream below."

"Locally quarried Pottsville sandstone anchors the vertical elements to bedrock, while floor-to-ceiling glass in continuous bands eliminates traditional corners entirely. A suspended staircase descends from the living room directly to the stream, inviting residents to move freely between architecture and nature. Wright even incorporated the original picnic boulder into the design, making it the hearth of the living room fireplace."

"Taliesin West: The Desert Masterwork Wright established his winter home and architectural laboratory in the Sonoran Desert, building almost entirely by hand with his apprentice community. They developed a unique desert masonry technique, setting local boulders and sand into concrete forms to create walls that appear to grow from the Arizona landscape itself. The complex became far more than a residence."

Frank Lloyd Wright designed homes as immersive philosophies that merge architecture with nature. At Fallingwater he sited the house directly over Bear Run's waterfall, cantilevering concrete terraces beyond their supports and anchoring vertical elements with Pottsville sandstone. Floor-to-ceiling glass in continuous bands eliminates traditional corners, and a suspended staircase descends from the living room directly to the stream. He incorporated the original picnic boulder into the living room hearth and selected an ocher exterior after finding a dried rhododendron leaf. Low ceilings create a compression effect before releasing into larger spaces. At Taliesin West he built by hand with apprentices, developing desert masonry that makes walls appear to grow from the Arizona landscape.

Read at Yanko Design - Modern Industrial Design News