Fallingwater was completed in 1939 as the weekend country residence of the Kaufman family, owners of the Pittsburgh Kauffman’s Department Store. Frank Lloyd Wright was a close friend of the family, and designed here a home carefully in synch with its site; the home’s masonry seems to form part of the hill into which it’s built. Despite its spanning elevation, Wright emphasized the homes’ horizontality with wide terraces, low ceiling heights, and carefully crafted details. The house’s cantilever over the cascading Bear Run stream not only underscores this horizontality, but it also invites a natural water feature into the living space.
The home is now a museum, and Joeb Moore & Partners enjoyed a guided tour through the home and the grounds. The house contains a significant art collection, including works by Pablo Picasso and Diego Rivera. Nearly all of the furniture was custom designed by Wright, and the home just underwent a significant renovation.
