It fell almost two inches when it was built. Over time the cantilevered bottom deck drooped five more inches, a total drop of seven inches which was almost four (4) percent. It had to be reinforced by using special large steel beams, supports for the beams being drilled and bolted into the bedrock in the stream, steel cables, steel plates and concrete. Don’t blame this on engineering. It was really dumb design.
The owner hired some engineers to look into the design while it was being built and they recommended additional reinforcing. Wright was indignant. Kaufman soothes him but quietly, without Wright’s knowledge, had the contractors double the number of reinforcing cables. It wasn’t enough. The building drooped as soon as the support scaffolding was removed. In short, an entire secondary structural system had to be invented to ensure that Fallingwater achieves the most basic imperative of a building: that it stands up. Inexcusable architecture.
OTOH, it is a beautiful and brilliant architectural design. The appearance of Fallingwater, is almost spiritual, an intrusion into nature that makes nature better. The poor design has been corrected by engineers who know how to build and repair mistakes. Because of the brilliance of Frank Lloyd Wright and the design abilities of engineers the repairs were made and are rather unnoticeable. We can enjoy a magnificent building that is an inspiration not only to architects but to people who love the earth. It will last hundreds of years thanks to the engineers.
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