What's in the basement of Fallingwater?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มิ.ย. 2024
- We get an exclusive behind the scenes tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural masterpiece, Fallingwater, and learn all of its secrets on this installment of Yinzer Backstage Pass.
Brit here.
It is impossible to get tired of Frank Lloyd Wright's work.
But in my opinion, Fallingwater is his finest work.
America's gain, Britain's (especially Wales) loss.
Fantastic that the house is being preserved for generations to come.
For those who don't own it and have to pay to maintain it, "It is impossible to get tired of Frank Lloyd Wright's work." :-)
@@charlessmyth Is it possible that you fail to understand that the house is financially self-supporting? There have been over five million PAYING visitors to it since 1964, and 167,000 in 2015 alone. TOURISM pays to maintain it.
Scotland has Charles Rennie Mackintosh's works so there is that.
Thx you 🇺🇸👍
Wright was no engineer, though. And he tended to overrule engineers who pointed out that his structures were insufficiently supported, insufficiently waterproof, poorly insulated and all the rest of it.
Just came across the name Jaroslav Polívka, who was one of those engineers, maybe the main one.
As a fourteen year old, I stumbled across Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water in a book in my high school library. I was immediately transfixed. Then, a few years into adulthood, I saw a film of the Kaufmann family swimming off the platform shown in this video. I've always been interested in art and design but this definitely kick started my life long interest in architecture. Interestingly, prior to the earthquakes here in Christchurch, Aotearoa-New Zealand, starting in 2010, I was pretty much art deco and Bauhaus focused. Falling Water spans so many style genres of the 20th century and earlier, where the incorporation of the landscape into the architecture is concerned.
I had a similar experience as a young teenager. It just looked perfect, I was absolutely in love with the pictures.
Nice to see a glimpse into the utility spaces no one ever shows or talks about. The glamorous upstairs is nothing without the inner workings.
So thankful Fallingwater isn't like the Alamo with no basement. 😂
Of course the Alamo has a basement. That's where PeeWee Herman's bike was.
@@ernststravoblofeld Don't you remember? When Peewee got to the Alamo that's when he found out it didn't have a basement.
And Pedro is working on an "adobe." Can you say that with me? 🤣
@@NortheastAndRetiredk9th 😂I😢kkllk😂🎉😢oo6uu7 I🎉🎉🎉🎉u🎉
@@NortheastAndRetiredo77😢
The Alamo didn’t have a leaky roof!😂
Frank Lloyd Wright, outstanding Architect, horrendous engineering nightmares. Fallingwater used cantilevered beams that underperformed. At one point, they had to place supports under the structure to keep it from falling. An engineering rework occurred where the original floor was removed and pre tensioned steel cables were installed to help bring the floors back into horizontal alignment.
He was defiantly ahead of his times. Can't even imagine what he came up with that the practical engineering of his age would not allow him to implement where today's materials and science would allow him to fulfil.
Oh the practical engineering of the age was quite adequate to the structural requirements of that building. FLW just wasn't a structural engineer.
Those crazy Datsuns! We call them Nissans now.
Young people can be so stupid....
It's astonishing that this elegant home was completed in 1937. The chic style at the time was more Art Deco. And the Deco homes weren't open plan. As incredible as the exterior architecture of Falling Water is, the interiors are really way ahead of the times. The style of the average American home at this time was Traditional Minimal, often copying Cape Cod styles. It's just such an intriguing home and it's placement on the property is literally genius.
It's not genius when it requires millions of dollars of mold mitigation and an ongoing staff to keep it from falling into immediate disrepair. Practicality is pretty important, too.
@@signalfire6691 still genius even if you move it away from a water source
Falling waters is actually a vacation spot;instead of a cabin in the woods,the Kaufmans upgraded to this from another vacation structure nearby in the woods.This is not their residence,but a getaway spot from their department store business and regular home in Pittsburgh area.They would take the train out of Pittsburgh to relax and play in the stream there.I thoroughly enjoyed my visit,but was surprised at the small rooms,not really shown here to display their actual size.Because it was for seasonal use,I guess the tiny rooms were all that was neccessary,as the main purpose of their visits was to play in the stream. Their adult son who inherited Falling Waters had a lot of books collected there that he must have spent time reading,before it became a public destination.The walls are adorned with original Diego Rivera paintings,who visited with the Kaufmans there,and some unfortunately perverted Picasso art,and beautiful original Audubon bird paintings.
@@signalfire6691 Hey there. I don't know if you remember me but we went to high school together. 💕
If you have seen the Ken Burns FLlW documentary, the International Style that evolved in Europe because of the popularity of The Wasmuth Portfolio's publication in 1910 was the direct evolution of the Prairie Style. This is Wright's main work in the International Style.
Boy that mic is really right up in his face…
you got that right... talk about low budget: they couldn't get two wireless mics to shift the viewer focus away from the after-school-video-club level equipment back to the amazing environment we're being treated to?
and how did this guy get the gig?
he's beyond annoying to look at and annoying to listen to ... I"ll bet the gracious facility director was thinking "OMG. This thing can't end soon enough!"
sorry, Dude - you should be covering the birth of the new baby seal at the town aquarium or the shopping center fire
This was a great informative tour of the parts of Fallingwater most people never even know exists. Thanks!
Dustin is so cute. I want his number.
I love the enthusiasm the interviewer shows! And why not? This is a truly amazing piece of architecture.
I've been fascinated by Falling Water all my life and THIS was by far the best walk through I've ever seen. You're VERY GOOD AT THIS! Can't wait to see more!
What the dishy director doesn't mention is the thousands and thousands of dollars they spend every year to eradicate mold. The foliage was most likely not so dense when the house was built, but now one can see it has practically no sunlight exposure. The mold is pernicious.
There's a FLW house in Rochester, NY. He was once driven by it years after it was built and complained that 'they've put gutters on it and ruined the lines!' You need gutters on a house in upstate NY, trust me. I have no idea why he's so famous, his houses were egotistical unusable art pieces destined to bankrupt the owners, not built for real use.
@@signalfire6691 Except for the house he built for himself and his family in Oak Park. It is beautiful, comfortable; a wonderful place to live in and raise a family.
Well said.
I impression of him is that he was a real anal weirdo
As a young architect in the '50s i used to call up Edgar Kauffman's secretary in New York City and arrange to visit the house. I remember actually going down those steps to the water. We only looked at the very public spaces, although we did walk up the steps to the guest house and take a look inside. Great memories.
you must be really old now
They let us go down to the water, too! We each got to go, one-at-a-time.
Many years ago, I went on a class field trip to Fallingwater, when I was an art student at Carnegie Mellon. There is a crypt in the basement where family members are buried and doorways are low as the family was short. After 2 of the guys (Kenny and Richard) tried to use a bathroom that wasn't hooked up, we were basically kicked out and told not to return. A stunning home to tour, I recommend driving out there.
yeah that's where they did the human sacrifices
I went on the house tour 2 weeks ago. I had gotten a book of Fallingwater black-and-white photographs in 1963, as a teenager, which I still have, and waited 60 years to make my visit. In the meantime, I had collected many other books about Wright and the house. Walking down the road and getting the first view, my reaction was, after 60 years, that it seems smaller than I imagined. Another thing I hadn't noticed from photos is the height of the parapet walls around the terraces. The cantilevered floors are rather thick, leaving about 2' of height inside. The parapets are also bull-nosed, and would be really dangerous to sit on. This, of course, to provide the best horizontal views, but really creepy to walk around.
The continuity of your interest and engagement - and the fact that, after 60 years, you were able to visit in person - are inspirational. Having also visited Fallingwater, I understand your remarks regarding scale. But I think it's an appropriate scale: residential spaces are over-built these days. There's nothing particularly valuable about empty enclosed space. As amazing as Fallingwater is, I am not convinced it's meant to be lived in, at least not without a support team.
Same with Graceland, it is dwarfed by today's McMansions.
Same here. I went maybe 10 years ago. It was a LOT of walking.
The house itself seemed small but it had decks for days. Loved the decks.
I would have liked to go down the stairs to the water but it was sealed off. And I wanted to see the kitchen but no.
I especially hated that bathroom where the toilet was about 3 inches off the floor. What was the point of that? I was unimpressed.
@@DJJahT I expected Graceland to be ginormous. It was nice but more like a house your rich uncle owns.
Maybe it was the way the rooms were laid out. I'm sure it's a lot bigger than it seemed because it seemed almost small.
To be fair, we weren't allowed upstairs. Maybe it was big upstairs? I dunno.
Graceland would be a cool place to hang after a concert tour. I could see why Elvis built it.
@@protorhinocerator142 raised toilets helped for plumbing installation i believe. I loved how many fantastic nooks and lighted areas, everywhere you looked small details. Amazing to see in person.
I took the tour about 20 years ago and was amazed at the total plan of the house. I also learned that Wright had a huge ego and much of the house was built around that. He considered himself a Master Builder and didn't take criticism lightly. When the contractor said that the outdoor deck area needed far more reinforcement, Wright was indignant. The contractor I think doubled the rebar hoping that Wright wouldn't notice. Turns out it wasn't enough and the deck sagged and cracked under a heavy snow load. Modern analysis showed that they were only a few tons of snow load from failure. The stairs to the stream is a striking feature, but ended up being closed most of the time, since the air coming up was very moist, so much so that the Kaufmann's sometimes referred to the house as Rising Mildew.
Wright based much of the hallway and room dimensions on his own stature, saying the ideal height for a person was 5' 7", his height. So the stairways had low ceilings, creating a rather claustrophobic passageway to the bedrooms. But as you got into the bedrooms, the ceilings became higher in stages, with the highest by the tall windows overlooking the forest. Wright wanted that opening up, from cramped interior to tall open outdoors to feel like an opening up.
The iconic red kettle was a luxury Wright insisted on, thinking it would be a grand way to make drinks. But water had to be brought up from the downstairs kitchen, pitcher by pitcher, a very long and laborious task. Even with a roaring fire, it had so much water in it that it took hours to get the water to boil. The Kaufmann's used it only once.
The Kaufmanns were probably too polite to tell Wright about all the discomfort they experienced living in the house. But when the son inherited it, he couldn't unload it fast enough. "Rising Mildew," indeed. Not to mention the other nasties.
If you visit the house Wright created for his family (Oak Park, Chicago), you'll experience a most wonderful, comfortable place to live. When making a place for himself, the plan is totally different from the ego-driven monstrosities.
That's the real take-away from visiting Fallingwater , it's really a cabin in the woods. Surprisingly small and damp inside. Nearly uninhabitable in any other season than full summer. The building itself is designed to be photographed from the downstream vantage point , not actually lived in.
Aren't you the little know-it-all?
That's the case with any architect who has a vision, and they picked him for a reason. And a lot of that has nothing to do with his ego, it was his design vision to surprise people and to use space and rooms to elevate experiences. Complaining about the kettle is silly.
Great video! Loved seeing the basement. I also love the hosts shirt!
That was the BEST tour!...learned more about the house from this the the thousands of documentaries on it...well done...all the right questions 😊
Great interview. please do something about the really intrusive microphone thou.
Wow! Thanks for sharing this video. I'd always wanted to visit Falling Water, but never had the opportunity. Excellent review of the features. FLW was ahead of his time, and a true visionary. I'd heard that he'd sat on the design, procrastinating for months, until one day Kaughman suddenly was in town and wanted to see progress. So, FLW quickly sketched something out, which was the basis for the final design. Maybe that's legend, but it's what I remember reading somewhere. In any case, it is a remarkable achievement in architecture, although, I do think mold would be a problem from all the water around.
Out of all the videos I've watched about Fallingwater, this one might be my favorite!
I was with a large group who had done a rafting trip down the lower Yough and did an architectural tour of this incredible site about 40 years ago, this video brought back some great memories
This is the first time that I’ve ever seen the inside of Falling Water. Astounding!
Simply STUNNING. And, is it my imagination, or does he keep saying Datsuns? 😂
Those are short Japanese dogs. I didn't know that there were long-haired ones.
Daschunds……long haired daschunds.
He was, indeed, saying "Datsuns".
I was hoping for a picture of the long-haired Datsuns, at least. I'm surprised that he doesn't know that we call them Nissans now.
Pittsburghese, yinz guys.
That microphone was really distracting. You should really look into wireless lav microphones. That said, nice tour and lots of interesting components
All those windows are nice when you own every spot where someone can see through them from the outside.
I attended Florida Southern College in the 1990's, long before I had an appreciation of architecture. It's campus is comprised of the largest number of FLR buildings in one spot anywhere in the world. Most of my classes were in buildings designed by Wright. I recall often being distracted by the various features of the design, and how those features blended with the environment. Unfortunately at the time, the college had allowed the buildings to degrade. The paint was peeling, the rooves leaked, and there were foundation cracks- not to mention how poorly insulated they were. The use of glass allowed the hot Florida sun to shine through onto us students. I haven't been back in 30 years, but the college has much more money now and I image they've invested in restoration of those architectural marvels.
Hey, I spent a good part of my life in Pennsylvania and never got to Fallingwater. That video was great. You are really fun to watch. I think your style is wonderfully quirky. It is so perfect for presenting Pittsburgh related content.
Hey do you ever do tours of that Kazoo museum? I live in Aiken, SC; not so far from Beaufort.
I spent a good part of my life in Arizona and never got to the Grand Canyon. whatever...
Yes, but there's nothing in that ditch but dirt. @@kevinwelsh7490
They didn't even go inside the boiler room! I did the high school architecture residency program at FW in 2016 and actually saw the WHOLE basement including the giant oil-fired boiler. I enjoy peeking into the more rarely seen guts of interesting buildings.
I always wanted to see where the wading pool went as it appears to be a void in the layout where it goes into the house.
@@scottthompson9923 If I remember correctly, if you go behind the wading pool there's a stone foundation wall with some buttresses. I think that's actually the same wall opposite to the boiler room.
I drove all the way from Boston the see that Fallingwater House...Priceless!!
Thank you for the lovely tour. Very well presented. I became interested in FLW when I encountered his work in an art history class at the University of Texas at Austin more than 50 years ago. And even though I followed a career in the judiciary, something still resonates within me about FLWs work.
What a treat to be taken on this tour, thank you from Australia. I hope to visit in person one day.
Wonderful dwelling.
Thanks for interviewing the housekeeper.
This home is a living piece of art and the most important home from 20th century American architecture. I have not been there yet but one day I hope to walk through it. Thank you for this opportunity to see it as it still thrives today.
why didn't they name it 'Water Falling'?
Beside the visit to Fallingwater, there are many other places to visit in the same area. It makes a wonderful day trip. There is a major resort close by, a Revolutionary War Fort, White Water rafting, Bike trails, Camping and several nice places to eat.
Awesome behind-the-scenes look of Fallingwater. Love the engaging interviewer! Great questions. I appreciate the director's knowledge and my learning something new about this iconic home.
Its such an insanely beautiful piece of art. One you can actually immerse yourself in. I need to go back and get inspired again.
Great video. I have never seen a video that took you to the private
parts of the house before. The last video I remember seeing was
when the house was going through a major restoration.
Thank you for this video,
Jeff❤
You said "private parts"! Heh, heh 🤣😜
@@markmartindale7215 🤣🤣😆
This is an incredible treat to see this, in this way. Thank you so much.
I have to say, bless this guide’s heart. He does such an incredible job. Bravo!
This was fantastic! For the future I would seriously consider lav mics so you can be a little more casual and for your guest's comfort.
If you were interviewing me, I know I'd get anxious and exhausted by the mic being pointed in my face for that long, plus you have to be joined at the hip to make it work.
I kept thinking how frustrated the cameraman must be, as many of the spaces were small and everyone kept turning away from him/her. :-)
Thank you so much for posting this. A truly wonderful design and setting. Visited there back in 2001 and they had the living room floor opened up for some work…we got a rare chance to see the floor structure. We didn’t get these cool behind-the-scenes peeks, and this is just fascinating. And btw, that guy officially has the coolest job and office in the world. LOL. Cheers!
I am surprised that there was no mention of the numerous structural problems with the house that began showing up almost immediately after construction. There were many problems with under reinforced and under designed beams that cracked and sagged and had to be fixed later at substantial cost. Frank Lloyd Wright chose to ignore his structural engineer who warned him of the problems with the design of Fallingwater. This is not atypical of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. He was a great designer but not necessarily a great architect of functional buildings.
i have always suspected that your description is true. it is timeless beauty in design but the reality is that it was a nightmare to maintain. It would have fallen into the the river without modern intervention.
"of course it leaks, that's how you know it's the roof"
@@MarkEichin The major problems were not caused by a leaking roof, although it did leak. The reinforced concrete structure was not properly designed even by the building codes of that time. I think the first responsibility of an architect is to design a safe building that will function. All the innovative design features are great but they are secondary to the primary responsibility of an architect.
Nearly every one of his structures had/has major structural problems. 10s of millions have been spent correcting his engineering failures. Nice to visit but would not want to live there.
We crave incredible mythologies. Frank Lloyd Wright is the beneficiary of that desire. Interesting that no family chose to take over the problems.
Wow, imagine being staff at this amazing home. This walk through the home is really lovely. Thanks for the details and sharing of actually life and nature in this home
I didn't know Bill Hader's brother was the guy in charge of Fallingwater.
My Grandmother was a curator at the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park Illinois. Prairie school architecture was always something that was loved in my family.
“Water infiltration everywhere”. Great , form before function….i worked on a water problem that plagued a Wright design house in Maryland and to describe it as junk is actually generous
People call this house a 'Sculpture'. They don't realize how accurate this is. It's not a practical house at all and it was never a home.
I used to have a book on Fallingwater. Amazing property.
This video is great! Seeing more the intricacies of this amazing house is a huge treat.
It’s been years but I was able to get one of the more detailed tours when offered. If you ever get the chance, it’s truly worth it.
I read somewhere that while everyone referred to it as Fallingwater, the owner called it Rising Mildew.
Drove from Toronto in a Tesla just to see this beautiful home with a good friend and it was definitely worth the drive.
Fantastic tour!
Amazing home and a great video tour! I would love to see Fallingwater once in my life. Always intrigued by Wright's structures.
What a great review of a house I've heard about for years and years. Truly a revolutionary design!
They had great sexual chemistry
Best tour I’ve seen, so far.
Got to admit, the first thing that came to mind was standing water.
Always interested in viewing Fallingwater videos and this is among the best and most interesting I've seen. Some views, aspects, and features I had never seen.
The open concept started in a log cabin/small stone building hundreds of years ago.
It is amazing that the circulations is just working fine right into this era
Thanks for this tour!
I always see something new on every visit to Fallingwater. So fortunate to live close enough to visit it without too much of a drive.
Dachshund not Datsuns.
Thank you! I thought I was hearing things!
Right - I kept chuckling, imaging what a long haired basic economy car of the 70s would look like! 😄
@@seanmartin1212chewing on kitchen chairs 😂
Great to see these “insider” views of this extraordinary house.
Soooo, we’re just not gonna discuss that dude’s microphone work? Holy moly, I thought the guide was either going to punch microphone guy or start laughing. He kept having to bob and weave from that microphone.
Wonderful video tour of my favorite house! I wanted it to go on and on!
Cool tour!
Every corner seems to have something spectacular
Amazing! Thanks. Definitely on my bucket list.
i especially love the corner windows which swing out, frame and all for an unobstructed view.
Was just here for 2nd time last month! Beautiful place! Also went to his 2 houses in Polymath Park & The Guggenheim all within a 2 week span!
I visited Falling Water back in 2014, there had just been a big rain fall and the creek was roaring. The guide we had complained about the constant loud noise. The house is constantly being repaired.
We have a FLW house in my town (Corner of Ingleside and Vista Circle, Macon, Ga), and most folks drive by it and have not a clue...has no water fall though... thanks for the tour!
I do not see any FLW houses in Georgia listed on the official sites.
@@Frank7748124 be that as it may, it is there and is definitely a FLW house. 3110 Ingleside Ave, Macon, GA 31204. Just the main house, the addition was added in the 1980's
Thanks for doing this. I toured the house back in '95. I still remember it clearly. I asked the docent what the little white buttons in the bedrooms were for. LOL!
This is so cool. Thank you for the video!
How'd you get him to agree to such an open tour?! Seems like great staff and a really cool trip.
Great Video!!!! I've seen tons of fancy produced video's of FW but this is the best! It's humble yet informative, genuine and interesting. My gut would say - put lavs on these guys but i like this approach. NEXT - keep funding this kind of content. How can we as viewers support your efforts?
The mic brandishing was distracting. I thought he was going to shove it down his throat. Lose it next time. Maybe appropriate for a standing, static interview but chasing someone with a mic in their face is not good form.
I love the low ceilings. So many houses today are built like cathedrals with ceilings 50 ft above your head (exaggeration, I know). The lower ceiling is more energy efficient and are much cozier and homier.
Great tour guide and great videography, love how you kept calling it a creek lol
I toured this house many years ago. While it is beautiful, groundbreaking and all the rest I can assure you that it couldn't be easily occupied by tall people. I'm 6'6" tall and every doorway was a 'duck' for me and many of the ceilings are only 7' high. the furniture is also very tiny. I read somewhere that Wright was only 5'5" and he scaled everything to himself. Overall, a very weird marriage of the feeling great space and claustrophobia.
Seeing this magnificent house was one of the last trips I took with my husband. It holds a cherished memory.
Thanks for the tour..one suggestion; get yourself a couple of lavalier microphones so you can clip one on to you and your "guest"-so you don't have to chase anyone around-like a puppy.
I enjoyed this random TH-cam recommendation that appeared in my feed because I knew Justin in high school and hadn't seen him since.
Very interesting video.
This is my all-time favorite architectural home
That was fun, thanks.
Difficult to stay focused on the house with that cute director. 😊
It is so great to see the house in such great condition after having so much time and money spent on putting it Wright. :)
I built a near copy of Jacobs-1 - and it was the most fun project of my life.
Putting it Wright: great pun!
I remember the humidity is the main reason why the original owner don't want to live there...
Mrs. Kaufmann visited once and never went back 😒
incredible that the DOB of the architect was 1856 from memory
A dear friend of mine got to see Frank Lloyd Wright at a lecture in Chicago. She was an architect when it was very difficult for women in the 1940's. She always wanted to build modern, sweeping buildings but hardly ever got away with that. She mainly did colonial homes and even churches in Chester County P.A.
This is amazing.
bruh... lav. that mic in the face is nearly assault.
Severe structural problems from lack of rebar in cantilever that had to be addressed.
A good video is on TH-cam about post tensioning project completed .
I was there long ago.
Beautiful.
The thing about FLW homes clearly they’re beautiful. But so many of them have not only been preserved - the history of how the homes came about and the families that had them built is also often preserved and presented.
There is a FLW home nearby in Bloomfield Hills, MI, now under the care of the Cranbrook Institute of Art. The original owners were teachers of very modest means. FLW normally designed homes for people with money. In this case he reluctantly agreed to design a modest home they mostly built themselves as they saved up enough money for each stage.
Have never seen it like this. Had no idea they had "staff". Guess I don't know much about the family or how they lived. It's truly one of a kind. Maybe will get to visit some day...
One of my Bucketlist places to visit.
Now they’d be long haired Nissans.
He's saying that the modern idea of the kitchen flowing into the dining room flowing into the living room started with FLW (and implied with Fallingwater).
If you tour Fallingwater you don't get to visit the kitchen. It's nowhere near this living room. It's on another floor entirely.
When I went the tour guide was saying all sorts of wrong information. Of special note, she said this was the most influential house of the 20th century.
Oh really? Is that why my house looks exactly like Fallingwater? I don't know of any houses that look like this. This was a cool concept but it didn't influence any houses I've ever seen.
It’s astonishing that FLW is more modern than this guy’s microphone jammed into faces.
Toured back in 2016, After seeing photos and reading about Falling it was AMAZING to get to see it....almost could not believe my eyes. Go yourself if you can. I hope to again.
Outstanding
how to you get up from that toilet?