Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater

Frank Lloyd Wright is considered by many knowledgeable critics and scholars as the not only the most famous architect in the world, but the most creative -- and even revolutionary -- architect in the world. Wright's Fallingwater building, which "…perches so dramatically on the cliff overhanging the eponymous waterfall near Pittsburgh" (Steffensen, 2009), is thought of today as one of the most remarkable private homes ever built by anyone.

The Fallingwater building, designed in 1936, juts out over a thundering waterfall on the 5,000 acre property formerly owned by department store magnate Edgar J. Kaufmann. Albrecht Powell writes that Fallingwater "…epitomizes man living in harmony with nature" and it was constructed "…of local sandstone, reinforced concrete, steel and glass" (Kaufmann, 2009). The interior features cantilevered desks, "earth-toned built-in sofas, polished stone floors," and with the thought of allowing the outside light to shine in, Wright designed "large casement windows," Kaufmann writes.

The house is listed among the 28 places everyone should "…visit before you die," according to the Smithsonian's Life List. It was designated as a "National Historic Landmark" in 1996 and ion 1991 the American Institute of Architects (AIA) named the Fallingwater house "the best all-time work of American architecture"; it also ranks 29th on the list of America's Favorite Architecture, the AIA's list.

In 1999 it was determined that the main cantilever in the Fallingwater house needed reinforcing,...

The steel-reinforced concrete beams had "deflected" (bent) as much as 7 inches, which was enough to warrant shoring up the main beams. One of the main reasons for the sagging of the beams is "temperature changes" from hot summers to very cold winters, the Civil Engineering News article explained.
Frank Lloyd Wright -- Taliesin West

Wright designed his Taliesin West home far from the Pennsylvania location of his masterpiece (Fallingwater), in Arizona's Sonoran Desert. It was a place he loved to spend the winters, in fact he had been spending winters with his Taliesin Fellowship group in 1933, but by 1937 he was ready to build a residence so he bought desert property for $3.50 an acre in 1937. The land he bought was on the southern slope of the McDowell Range that looks over Paradise Valley just outside of Scottsdale, Arizona.

It may have cost Wright $10,000 to dig a well deep enough to secure water for the learning center (and home) that Taliesin West was to be, but he didn't mind because he was thoroughly inspired by the "…long, low sweeping lines, uptilting planes" and the colors in the desert. The walls of Taliesin West are made of rocks from the desert and the rocks are secured with wood forms and then filled with concrete. Typical of Wright, he likes to use natural materials from the environment around his homes.

The drafting room of Taliesin West a lot of natural light is let in thanks to the translucent materials, and the furniture and other decorations were of course designed by Wright. He also designed an…