Robert Silman has the most perfect delivery of erudite articulated explanations: clear, precise and utterly understandable. i completely enjoyed this presentation, the marvelous excitement of Mr. Silmans , the entire team and the execution of the difficult project. EXCELLENT.
When I was there in 1988, they did not allow the visitors to walk into the living room. I could see the cantilevered balcony from a distance. I was really disappointed. Then I read about the post tensioning was being done to the situation. I am so relieved. The building that inspired me to be an architect in 1957 when I was a 20 years old waiter was saved! It gives me hope in my architectural design to continue struggling. Thanks. George Wu, ARCHITECT, A.I.A., NCARB 2019-2-19
He missed the catch in his story at the end. Frank Lloyd Wright, after procrastinating on those drawings until the last minute, is said to have said after having just completed the work and upon EJ's arrival "EJ, we've been waiting for you"
Thank you for posting this. It was so fascinating, and I was thrilled to hear the famous FLW stories as told through Mr. Silman. I love people like him; calm, respectful, good story-telling ability, and so intelligent.
Who would have guessed so much was deconstructed to make these repairs. It looked exactly the same when I visited in 2006 as it did during my many visits in the 80's and 90's. Astonishing.
Ive been in construction for over 30 years. This has to be one of the most interesting videos Ive ever seen. FLW is the chief. What these guys did was amazing, top notch job. As soon as he described the problem I said post tension. Awesome work.
I actually have had the pleasure of seeing it twice. Once in the mid'ish 90's so that was before they did the reno, and the second time was 2007 after the reno. I can't exactly remember, but I don't believe we were allowed to go out on the verandas in the mid 90's, and it may have been as a result of this problem. Either way, it's a stunning place, not as big as it appears, but it is VERY cozy and you'll feel like you're home........enjoy!!!!!
Plan your schedule so that you can spend two days and pay the money to be able to "binge" on the "max" tours. Both Fallingwater and Kentuck Nob are very different, but worth every penny. We visited in the fall and both of the large surrounding properties are glorious, lush with mega hillside vistas. Why you should spend the extra money is because of the very rural location and off the beaten path such that you may not able to find time to experience them again. Watch the Alfred Hitchcock film "The Trouble with Harry" that's set in Vermont, but is similar in scenery with this Pennsylvania area. One is not too far from Pittsburgh which has it's own architectural unique sites including Andrew Carnegie's colossal art museum and library located in downtown Pittsburgh between U of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Mellon University.
Excellent presentation in how the repair was made. Loved the details from start to finish on the entire process. Just wished I could have been involved with it.
This was a fascinating account of Fallingwater's renovation, recounted so pleasantly by Mr. Silberman, obviously a consummate professional, thanks again for this!
FLW had already built the entire house in his mind, visualizing every detail of construction, and solving the build problems in his mind. All that was left was to put it down on paper. Alfred Hitchcock said he made movies this way--he'd visualize every scene, down to actor, camera and set piece placement. He said that was the hard part--that the easy part was shooting the movie.
Truly an interesting story! Just makes the case of double and triple-checking things before they are implemented all that more important...details (critical and otherwise) can, and will be, missed! And, if missed, catastrophic events can happen as a result. The 13 wire cables capable of pulling 40,000 pounds of tension each, combined, equals 260 tons...or, 20 tons per cable.
During this whole 2 part presentation I'm having flashbacks to structural engineering classes. A fascinating story. Be curious to more future follow ups on how the fixes are holding up. Thank you!
I expect not in our lifetime. All the cables are sealed in the interior and are unexposed. Only moisture in the air could affect them and that is negligible. As long as exterior paint is in place there will be no issues.
A cantilevered structure of this size with negative bars missing and only had cracks after all these years? Someone up there likes Frank Lloyd Wright! ...or most probably the Kaufmans.
Concrete from the 1930s is much stronger than the concrete of today. The original overseas high bridges to the Florida Keys built along the railroad Tressel is still standing the new bridges (1982) had already had pieces falling off and had to be patched 10 years after it was constructed.
If you give many ...an engineer a perfectly sound structure.... By his nature......, he'll pin its foundations, brace its columns, thicken its beams ..... And tell you..... now it's strong enough.....
Sir...u r looking for problems that didn't exist...in the 30's...think about it... U r taking the future an putting it in the passed... I also believe this dude didn't like Mr. WRIGHT... I've been to this place...its unreal... U must remember that this was done in the 30's.. How could you even compare anything...cheese an crackers... I've now watched both of these videos...glad its been done to save the place...
it was built in the 30's. It has fared much better then current structures that are less then a decade old. I would say its a blessing it was every conceived and built in the first place, its a marvel and a feat of architecture and engineering.
Allan Hegyes - Because architecture is about space. Engineering is about structure. Construction is about executing the intentions of the architects and engineers. The award recognizes that the arrangement of space on the site and in the building is without equal, despite shortcomings in engineering and construction.
Wright was always pushing the envelope in all his designs. Imagining out loud if you will, what was possible in a building. And so much so that his creations were decades ahead of the material limitations necessary for their time. I was however astonished that learn that the real failure of this particular structure was not so much the fault of FLW as it was the engineer's. But bear in mind that the house stood without repair for so long with out catastrophe!
it was built in 1935. It was ahead of its time. For the relative time it was built it still to this day looks modern , think how it looked back then. Its sensational , and absolutely deserves that title..
