Fallingwater isn't what it once was: Go see it while you have a chance.
In recent years, the cantilever balconies are falling over. Wright had a wonderful idea about the ratio of supported to unsupported balcony as 3:1. His idea, even though he was told it would never stand, stood until the late 1990s without additional support. The concrete of the balconies was starting to crumble and transfer load to other parts of the building. A study by an engineering firm indicated that the master terrace could not function as an independent cantilever, and that it was transferring its load to the living room level. The living room cantilevers were predicted to fail if there were no supports provided. In 1997, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy started to undertake steps to stop the movement of load by installing temporaty shoring. In 1999, a plan was drawn up to reinforce the living room terrace via post-tensioning. Waterproofing the building will also be done.
I was last at Fallingwater in 1995, before they started all of the major projects. I am happy to say that the pool has been painted.
If you should make it out to Fallingwater keep the following in mind:
- It was built for someone who is 5 feet 10 inches tall, so the steps don't seem right.
- The nature conservancy that runs it has put in additional outbuildings showing the benefits of conservation. One of the features are 'natural toilets'. These toilets are connected to the ground below you via clear pipes. The things that you leave are then combined with leaves and are somehow mulched, and thus the buildings don't need to be hooked up to sewer pipes.
Information provided by:www.paconserve.org/