Qualla: Fallingwater https://qualla.com/fallingwater en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:15 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/7/fallingwater-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Fallingwater https://qualla.com/fallingwater Fallingwater: Introduction https://qualla.com/fallingwater/ Photo credit Dave Pape, Public domain. The Kaufmanns wanted a house with a view of the waterfall. Frank Lloyd Wright gave them a house on top of it. When Edgar Kaufmann Sr. commissioned Wright to design a weekend retreat at Bear Run in Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands in 1934, he expected a home facing the falls from across the stream. Wright had other ideas. He placed the house directly over the cascade, cantilevering reinforced concrete terraces out into the air above the water so that Bear Run flows beneath the living room floor. The result, completed in 1937, became the most discussed modern house in the world -- a building where nature and architecture are so intertwined that the sound of falling water fills every room.

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Image: Dave Pape | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/7/fallingwater-wp/dpp7-fallingwater-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Fallingwater: A Department Store Patron https://qualla.com/fallingwater/ Photo credit AndrewHorne, Public domain. Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. was the president of Kaufmann's Department Store in Pittsburgh, one of the city's most prominent businessmen. He had established a summer retreat at Bear Run for his employees as early as 1916, and up to a thousand workers used the camp each summer. When the...

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Image: AndrewHorne | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/7/fallingwater-wp/dpp7-fallingwater-a-department-store-patron.mp3 0:06 2 full Fallingwater: Concrete Over the Falls https://qualla.com/fallingwater/ Photo credit Jeffrey Neal at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. Fallingwater is built of locally quarried sandstone, reinforced concrete, steel, and plate glass. The design's defining feature is the series of cantilevered terraces that extend outward from a central stone chimney with no visible support at their far ends. The first floor conta...

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Image: Jeffrey Neal at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/7/fallingwater-wp/dpp7-fallingwater-concrete-over-the-falls.mp3 0:06 3 full Fallingwater: The Cracks Appeared Immediately https://qualla.com/fallingwater/ Photo credit Sakul9, CC BY-SA 4.0. Fallingwater was fighting gravity from the start. During construction, cracked concrete and sagging terraces signaled structural problems. Wright's bold cantilevers pushed reinforced concrete beyond its comfortable limits. The terraces began to deflect downward almost as soon as ...

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Image: Sakul9 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/7/fallingwater-wp/dpp7-fallingwater-the-cracks-appeared-immediately.mp3 0:06 4 full Fallingwater: From Weekend Retreat to World Heritage https://qualla.com/fallingwater/ Photo credit AaronBarlow, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Kaufmanns used Fallingwater as their weekend home, and in 1939 Wright designed an L-shaped guest wing connected to the main house by a curved outdoor walkway, adding a carport and servants' quarters. Edgar Kaufmann Jr. continued using the house after both parents died. In 196...

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Image: AaronBarlow | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/7/fallingwater-wp/dpp7-fallingwater-from-weekend-retreat-to-world-heritage.mp3 0:06 5 full Fallingwater: Hidden in the Forest https://qualla.com/fallingwater/ Photo credit Canadian2006, CC BY-SA 3.0. One of Fallingwater's most surprising qualities is how invisible it is. Unlike grand country estates that command hilltops and sight lines, Fallingwater sits in a narrow stream valley beneath a dense forest canopy. You hear the waterfall before you see the house. The site was onc...

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Image: Canadian2006 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/7/fallingwater-wp/dpp7-fallingwater-hidden-in-the-forest.mp3 0:06 6 full