Fallingwater: A Celebrated Case of DAV Analysis

Abstract

Frank Llyod Wright’s Fallingwater House designed and built for Edgar Kaugmann, Jr. is one of the most celebrated examples of design excellence, innovation, and creativity. The building is located on Bear Run in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, located in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains, near Pittsburgh, PA. The house is partly built on a waterfall, which at the time of its construction became a source of several construction challenges including moisture damage and structural problems. How these challenges were negotiated and resolved over time and how the Fallingwater stood the test of time exemplify a unique opportunity to introduce the decision-making process of value-based design. This chapter presents a retrospective design added value analysis of Fallingwater, including key historical events that contributed to its design, construction, and emergence and resolution of its several construction challenges.

Exercise 2

A unique feature is what adds value to the design of a building. A benchmark is a comparative baseline for assessing differential value assessments of that design feature. Develop feature and benchmarking descriptions for a building of your choice where you have sufficient information to draft a table like the one provided below.