New In-Depth Fallingwater Experience Receives Overwhelming Response
When Fallingwater announced the new InSight OnSite program last fall, news of the in-depth visitor experience quickly went viral, drawing the attention of local, national and international media and bloggers. A waiting list immediately developed for the program, which is now almost completely booked through 2011. Staff members have also been busy dispelling rumors that participants would be able to sleep at Fallingwater itself. (Participants actually sleep in the nearby Kirkpatrick house).
Participants in the InSight OnSite program gain a unique perspective of Fallingwater.
This three-day program provides active lifelong learners the opportunity to gain a new perspective on architecture and its relationship to the natural world. It combines quiet exploration, group inquiry exercises and lively mealtime discussions to provide participants with a unique understanding of modern architecture from physical, psychological and historical perspectives.
The first InSight OnSite program took place in early May and drew participants from North Carolina, Florida, and Washington, DC.
Cheryl Lee Jorgensen, a member of the inaugural class, grew up in Chicago and has been aware of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work since she was a child. As a dancer and founder of the youth ballet company Les Jeunes Danseurs, she was excited to discover the choreography of Fallingwater and how Wright used light, compression of space and views of the surrounding landscape to lead people through the house.
An InSight OnSite group enjoys the cool waters of Bear Run from the stairway below the living room hatch.
Classmate Charles DeSants, Associate Vice President and Chief Benefits Officer at Georgetown University found it renewing to “convene with Frank Lloyd Wright.” Charles said, “I did not have a concept of what Fallingwater would feel like. Through this program, I have become more connected to Wright, Fallingwater, and the Kaufmanns...I am excited to share this experience with others. I need to bring my architect back here with me so I can make changes in my own house!”
Dinner at the house with Fallingwater Director Lynda Waggoner, Curator Justin Gunther, noted author and photographer Rick Darke, and his wife and co-horticulturalist Melinda Zoehrer, was a highlight of the program for Bea and Bill Welty.
As former owners and loving stewards of Thurston House, a dramatic 1954 Modernist home in the San Francisco Bay area designed by renowned Frank Lloyd Wrightian architect Olof Dahlstrand, and current owners of a modernist house in North Carolina, the Weltys appreciated chatting with Fallingwater’s staff about caring for a modern house.
“The combination of world class architecture and out-of-this-world setting together create an irreplaceable masterpiece,” said Bill. “Through this program, Fallingwater became much more alive and human,” added Bea.
“We want people to be able to develop their own relationship with Fallingwater. Programs such as InSight OnSite allow that to happen in a very special way.” said Lynda Waggoner, vice president and director of Falllingwater.
For additional information or to register for this unique experience, contact Katlyn Andyjohn, special events coordinator, at 724-329-7802 or by email at kandyjohn@paconserve.org.
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