Architecture is one of the types of art which often amaze people with its creativity and grandeur. Modern buildings may also astonish by their design and architectural decisions. Considering two modern buildings Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which was built in 1935 – 1936, and Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, the years of building 1929 – 1931, it may be noted that Fallingwater is closer to nature because of its architectural decision and design, that Villa Savoye, which is just modern according to its appearance.
Fallingwater (picture 1), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is a building that is part of the waterfall, which seems to be part of nature. It is situated in the picturesque part of Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburg. The house is built in the forest as it is surrounded by trees from all sides. The waterfall flows under it what gives the impression that the building is streaming with waterfall. Fallingwater stays on a rock, and the columns are also rocky. The floors are supported by these rocks, and the impression is created that the house is structured inside the cave. Fallingwater has earned the “status of a modern icon and become among the best known and most admired American buildings of the XX century” (Millerand Pencak 2003-x).
Villa Savoye (picture 2), designed by Le Corbusier, is also a building which is situated on the nature as the building for the rest from the busy city life. Villa Savoye is the building in the Poisse (Poissy-sur-Seine) in France. The country house is purely white with a glassy base. The modernity of style is seen in every part of the house, in every feature. Villa Savoye may be characterized as the “square box on legs, a composition of planes, austere white walls, and simple geometry” (Strickland et al 2001-136). The magnificence of this building is in its simplicity. There are no extra details. The building is two-floored with a huge terrace and interesting balcony, which juts out above the terrace.
These two buildings are designed for the only purpose, to relax in the picturesque countryside place far from the everyday busy city life. They are both situated in nature, but Villa Savoye, designed by Le Corbusier, is only the building that underlines the beauty of nature, and Fallingwater, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is the very part of nature. The building is the part of the forest; as trees fall down on it, it is the part of the cave, as the walls are the rocks from this cave. The house is also the part of the waterfall, as it springs from its foundation, and the part of the river as it hangs down under its waters.
So, the picturesque place and the closeness to nature is not the finish in connection with nature. Frank Lloyd Wright came further and created the house, which is part of nature in the true sense of the word. His building is the part of the rock, of the forest, of the river – it is a direct part of nature. Frank Lloyd Wright became the example of the nature houses which are the best places for relaxation from the city life. Living in such a house, it is impossible to not feel yourself the part of nature, what is the main aim of the rest in the country house.
Works Cited
- Miller, Randall M., and Pencak, William. Pennsylvania: a history of the Commonwealth. Penn State Press, 2003
- Strickland, Carol, Handy, Amy, and Brown, Patty. The annotated arch: a crash course in the history of architecture. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2001
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