Between Silence and Light

(Image taken from: http://www.rudienos.co.uk/assets/images/falling-water-10.jpg)

CRAFT

For the craft of Falling Water Frank Lloyd Wright used clean lines in order to separate spaces. Not only was craft important from an interior decoration standpoint but it was also important because of the location of the house. The house itself cantilevers over the side of a hill. Built with the concrete and metal the house has the structural integrity to stay in this location, with few repairs. The craft of Falling Water was also very important because of the way Frank Lloyd Wright built all his furniture into the walls so as to make it impossible for the inhabitants to change something about his design. (as shown in the picture above.)

For Monticello Thomas Jefferson fit his home into the surrounding landscape. There were handmade objects and hinges that were from over 200 years ago.TECHNIQUE
The way that Frank Lloyd Wright designed Falling Water to cantilever was a completely new technique that no one had succeeded in using this well. Monticello was made out of all local materials like wood and clay. Jefferson also decided to use new and interesting details in certain parts of the house such as the inclusion of Acorns in the fireplaces.

VIRTUAL
“The existence of something without it actually being there.”
In Falling Water one of the most gripping design aspects that Frank Lloyd Wright included was the use of windows. In the corner windows of many rooms you were able to open the widows completely to the outside and stand in the corner. This created the affect of being inside but feeling like you’re outside.
PUBLIC/ PRIVATE
In Monticello there were specific places for guests, for the owners, and for their slaves. These spaces were defined by the openness of the areas from the light and orientation. Spaces that are lit well are more inviting, so by keeping dim lighting in certain places, and brighter lighting in others, you can direct people through a space.
In Falling Water the hallways were very dimly lit. This has the effect of moving people from room to room. No one wants to linger in a dark and cramped hallway. This also makes transitions into a room from the hallway a more memorable and self-changing experience. You feel as though a weight is lifted off of your shoulders when you walk from the dark cramped hallway into a bright and open room.

LANGUAGE
For the most part the different houses are made from the materials around them. Falling Water is made from the rock that is also located in the waterfall underneath and around the house. Just as Monticello is made from local clay, stone, and wood. This speaks worlds about the designers. Because of their incorporation of local materials we know that they are taking into account the way in that their designs change their surroundings and also being conscious of the environment by not having many materials other than acorns, metal, and glass brought from other places.

I was completely taken by the surrounding landscape of both houses that we visited this weekend. Monticello was completely breathtaking in its overlooking of the hills, and the winding ride up to the main house was entrancing.
At falling water you are engulfed in the calming sounds of the water every time you open a window. Staring out from the balconies at the waterfall below, and looking down from the perch on the hill down on the trees and paths leading to the house has the most soothing affect. Even the lighting of Falling Water seemed so abnormally natural. The reflection of light off of the water and through the trees cast such interesting and mesmerizing shadows in the rooms and on the exterior of the