This looks further into the integration of Fallingwater with its surrounding environments. The strong emphasis placed on the harmony between man and nature from Wright's major influence of Japanese architecture. From the large rooms to the finer details of the house, the amount of work put into integrating the house with it's surroundings is outstanding. The fireplace hearth in the living room integrates boulders found on site which the house was built on. A ledge rock which protrudes through the living room floor was left in place to link the inside with the outside. The synthesis between nature and man is found even in the smallest details, like where the glass meets the stone walls there is no metal frame, the glass and its horizontal dividers were run into a caulked recess in the stonework so that the stone walls appear uninterrupted by glazing.
Where inspiration from site context is the idea and the space is the aspect.
A Quick Introduction into Brutalism
- Style of architecture which flourished from 1950s to mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement.
- British architects Alison and Pether Smithson coined the tern in 53, from the French beton brut, or "raw concrete", a phrase used by Le Corbusier to describe the poured board-marked concrete with which he constructed many of his post-WWII buildings.
- Brutalist buildings usually are formed with striking repetitive angular geometries, and where concrete is used,, often reveals the texture of the wooden forms used in the in-situ casting?
- ASK TUTOR HOW THIS RELATES TO IDEAS/CONCEPTS OF FALLINGWATER
- Describes a way of thinking about design that transcends the common, everyday buildings around us. Ecological + Individual = Organic.
- Promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world through design approaches so sympthetic and well integrated with its site that buildings, furnishing, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition.
- "So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be the modern ideal and the teaching so much needed if we are to see the whole of life, and to now serve the whole of life, holding no traditions essential to the great TRADITION. Nor cherishing any preconceived form fixing upon us either past, present or future, but instead exalting the simple laws of common sense or of super-sense if you prefer determining form by way of the nature of materials..." - Frank Lloyd Wright, written in 1954
- "Using Nature as our basis for design, a building or design must grow, as Nature grows, from the inside out. Most architects design their buildings as a shell and force their way inside. Nature grows from the idea of a seed and reaches out to its surroundings. A building thus, is akin to an organism and mirrors the beauty and complexity of Nature." - Eric Corey Freed
- Freed regards each design as an organism and each component as an interrelated extension of that organism.
- It is not just about the buildings literal relationship to the natural surroundings, but how the buildings' design is carefully thought about as if it were a unified organism.
- Geometries throughout Wright's buildings build a central mood and theme.
- David Pearson proposed a list of rules towards the design of organic architecture. Known as the Gaia Charter for organic architecture and design. "Let the design:
- be inspired by nature and be sustainable, healthy, conserving, and diverse.
- unfold, like an organism, from the seed within.
- exist in the "continuous present" and "begin again and again".
- follow the flows and be flexible and adaptable.
- satisfy social, physical, and spiritual needs.
- "grow out of the site" and be unique.
- celebrate the spirit of youth, play and surprise.
- express the rhythm of music and the power of dance."
- Organic Architecture is not a style of imitation, but rather, a reinterpretation of Nature's principles to build forms more natural than nature itself. Just as in nature, O.A involves a respect for natural materials, blinding into the surroundings, and an honest expression of the function of the building.
- Wright's mentor Louis Sullivan said "form follows function", however Wright changed it to "Form and function are one", claming Nature as the ultimate model.
- Even though Organic Architecture does reflect on environmental concerns, it does embody the human spirit, transcending the mere act of shelter into something that shapes and enhances our lives. Even though Organic Architecture is just an expressing of individuality, it explores our need and connection to Nature.
- Nature is the basis of design. As Nature grows, so must a building or design. Nature grows from a seed, very much like an idea, reaching out and extending to our surroundings. Thus, a building is akin to an organism and mirrors the beauty and complexity of Nature.
- Resulting product is a unique and original form that reflects the personality and needs of the client that also happens to be environmentally friendly. These buildings often resemble organic creatures or plants, but are new and inventive.
- Sometimes called "The Jewel of the Lake", Graycliff is sited on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie with sweeping views of downtown Buffalo and the Canadian shore. Most ambitious and extesnive summer estates Wright ever designed.
- Three buildings integrated within a 34000m2 landscape. Sited high on a bluff with views of Lake Erie across to Ontario. Building is set amidst extensive grounds and gardens also designed by Wright.
- Largest building, Isabelle R. Martin house consists of spacious cantilevered balconies, expansive terraces, and "ribbons" of windows that allow the experience of nature from within and through the house. Niagara Falls is visible through the framed opening created by the cantilevered upper bridge and the stone veneered massing at each end of the home. Lower section consists of glass walls becomes a transparent pavillion-like center, allowing vistsing to actually see through the building itself to the lake beyond.
- The Foster House, originally designed as a garage with an apartment above for the chauffeur and his family. Wright was asked to expand the building, where the owners daughter and her family lived in residence there. Has strong horizontal lines echoing the lake beyond, with cantilevered balconies and numerous windows.
- Smallest of the three buildings is the Heat Hut.
- The buildings are constructed of stone found at the lake's edge, ochre stucco.
- Garden walls composed of the same stone and stucco as the Foster and Martin houses, enhance the horizontal planes of the architecture. Both gardens and grounds feature water elements designed by Wright, including a porte cochere that extends from Martin House, cantilevering beyond it's stone pier supports over a stone basin from which water flows into a large irregularly shaped pool. A broad esplanade connects the terrace to the cliff and lake on the west side of the house. It was designed to carry water, pumped from the lake down it's length and over the bluffs, completing the illusion of the lake flowing through. There is a sunken garden, a hidden garden, and stone walls in a "waterfall" pattern. Wright designed the landscape surrounding the buildings, with trees and shrubs complimenting the architecture.
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