Frank Lloyd Wright Reborn (30) Fallingwater 3

Last time, I explained the balcony design of Fallingwater. This time, I will delve deeper into the design of each part derived from those balconies. I like the sleek design of the balconies, but they still feel quite boxy. To make them blend into nature, I broke them down into smaller pieces and extended them freely. I will introduce practical examples of this. In this episode, I will demonstrate my unique sense of reinforced concrete.

What is reinforced concrete? It is one of the most rationalized architectural construction methods in the modern era, combining steel reinforcement and concrete to withstand both compression and tension. Auguste Perret (1874-1954) enhanced its technical and design qualities, and he is known as the "father of concrete." He had a great influence on Gropius (1883-1969) and Le Corbusier (1887-1965). Perret was seven years my junior.

The photo of the Palais d'Iéna above shows what reinforced concrete should be. Slender columns and large openings are fine, but the essence of reinforced concrete lies in its richness of form, like clay. It is difficult to create this plasticity using only wood, iron, or stone. Perret succeeded in transforming the Gothic architecture of his time into reinforced concrete and advanced his own unique design.

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Organic Reinforced Concrete

How did I incorporate the new modern construction method of reinforced concrete into my organic architecture? Reinforced concrete is a composite of concrete and steel, possessing two types of opposing strengths: compressive strength and tensile strength. Depending on the priority given to these, two concepts of reinforced concrete emerge. (Diagram below)

There is inorganic reinforced concrete, which focuses on the crystallinity of concrete and the homogeneity of steel, and organic reinforced concrete, which focuses on the flexibility of steel and the fluidity of concrete. From the perspective of economic rationality, the former is superior, but it is the latter that connects with organic architecture. To me, reinforced concrete looked like a plant-like organism. My analogy is that steel is the fibrous body and concrete is the cellular body. Plant fibers are supple and rich in toughness. And the cellular body wraps those fibers flexibly and smoothly. Based on this concept and analogy, I pushed forward the organicization of reinforced concrete.

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Extending Reinforced Concrete

How did I practice organic reinforced concrete? Fallingwater was completed in 1937 and the Kaufmann family began living there, but they thought they needed a separate building and asked me for an additional design, which was completed in 1939. The design of the covered walkway at this time shows one aspect of organic reinforced concrete.

Organic reinforced concrete behaves like a plant. It extends and crawls along the earth.
The approach from the main building to the guest house is continuous, seeking each other out, designed like vines.

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The handrail of the exterior staircase also becomes part of the extending reinforced concrete. The balcony parapet crawls along the stairs, echoing the jagged outer skin of the rock.

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Reinforced concrete becoming particulate

Here, let me introduce the beautiful staircase of Fallingwater.
It is a suspended staircase that dances down to the river below. The balcony seems to atomize and descend to the river. In this atomization, the tensile strength of the reinforced concrete plays a role. Just as a plant generates thin leaves, my organic reinforced concrete also generated thin stair treads.

After Fallingwater, this staircase appears frequently in various residences.

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The eave louvers of Fallingwater can also be said to be part of the particulate reinforced concrete. They stretch out thinly like tree branches, creating dappled sunlight under the eaves.

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Dear Auguste Perret,

I have briefly explained my reinforced concrete above. To summarize, let me compare Le Corbusier's Domino system with my Fallingwater.

Regarding the sense of reinforced concrete, Le Corbusier and I remain contrasting as always. It seems Le Corbusier studied under Perret, but his ideas are one-sided. I have organized the two lineages of reinforced concrete in the diagram below. Auguste Perret experimented with both inorganic and organic reinforced concrete, which shows the basis for why he is called the 'father of concrete'.

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