VOLUME LXV • SUMMER/FALL 2019 Fallingwater, Now a UNESCO World Heritage SiteThomas D. Saunders PRESIDENT AND CEO Message from the President In this issue of Conserve, we celebrate the inscription of Fallingwater to the UNESCO World Heritage List. All of us on the board and staff of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy find the designation of Fallingwater as a World Heritage Site to be momentous and humbling. So many steps, stages and moments in history have led to this honor. The origins were a century ago, when the Kaufmann family recognized the beauty of the site. Their appreciation and purchase of this land was the first step in this history. And the fact that they had such interest in design – and such exceptional taste in all things design-related – set the stage for what was to come. Their innovative and forward-looking sense of design, and their ambition in what they wanted to accomplish on the site, led the family to hire Frank Lloyd Wright to design their weekend house. And then Wright made the daring decision to build the house directly over the waterfall, and with a design and engineering far ahead of their time, so much so that the house was on the cover of Time Magazine the year it was completed. Client and architect contributed to the remarkable achievement on this site. Skip ahead to the 1950s, and the Greater Pittsburgh Parks Association was becoming the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Then, in the early 1960s, Edgar Kaufmann jr. made the decision to entrust Fallingwater to the Conservancy. In the following decades, the Conservancy stewarded the house and site in a way that merged appreciation for architecture, preservation, land protection and education. Lynda Waggoner, for many years the Director of Fallingwater, led the process that spanned a 20-year period of exploration and application, finally leading to the World Heritage designation of Fallingwater and seven other key Frank Lloyd Wright sites. So ultimately, recently, this Pittsburgh family’s weekend residence received inscription on the World Heritage List. Few buildings in this country – including Independence Hall, the Statue of Liberty, Monticello – share that designation. Our thanks and appreciation to our long-time Fallingwater Director and current Director Emerita Lynda Waggoner, Fallingwater Director and Conservancy Vice President Justin Gunther, and Director of Preservation and Collections Scott Perkins for their scholarship, commitment, perseverance and their passion for Fallingwater. Without their efforts, this inscription of our beautiful local treasure as a World Heritage Site would not have occurred. CONTENTS Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater Now on the UNESCO World Heritage List Fallingwater's Nearly 20-year Process to Obtain World Heritage Status London Designer Frames a View of Fallingwater Thoughts on World Heritage Why World Heritage Matters Professor Provides Decades of Guidance for Landscape Architecture Interns Reflections on Fallingwater: Advisory Committee Chair Shares Personal History Preserving Fallingwater is More Important Than Ever Kaufmann’s Philanthropy Entrusts Fallingwater to WPC 3 7 10 14 16 17 18 20 22 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Susan Fitzsimmons CHAIR Stephen G. Robinson VICE CHAIR Daniel S. Nydick TREASURER Debra H. Dermody SECRETARY David E. Barensfeld Franklin Blackstone, Jr.* Barbara Bott E. Michael Boyle William Conrad Geoffrey P. Dunn, M.D. Beverlynn Elliott James C. Finley, Ph. D. Dan B. Frankel Dennis Fredericks Felix G. Fukui Caryle R. Glosser, Ph.D. Stephen Guinn, Ph.D. Carolyn Hendricks, M.D. Bala Kumar H. Lewis Lobdell Robert T. McDowell Paul J. Mooney Carolyn Rizza, Ph. D. Jean Robinson* Jennifer Shuey Samuel H. Smith Alexander C. Speyer, III K. William Stout Timothy R. Thyreen Megan Turnbull Joshua C. Whetzel, III *Emeritus Directors Thomas D. Saunders PRESIDENT AND CEO The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy protects and restores exceptional places to provide our region with clean waters and healthy forests, wildlife and natural areas for the benefit of present and future generations. The Conservancy creates green spaces and gardens, contributing to the vitality of our cities and towns, and preserves Fallingwater, a symbol of people living in harmony with nature. For information on WPC, Fallingwater and memberships: 412-288-2777 Toll Free: 1-866-564-6972 info@paconserve.org WaterLandLife.org Fallingwater.org Cover Photo: Fallingwater, iconic view from the visitor overlook. Christopher Little took the cover, living room and several exterior photos of Fallingwater used in this issue of Conserve. CONSERVE 23 Frank Lloyd Wright's FALLINGWATER Now on the UNESCO World Heritage List Fallingwater, an architectural masterpiece that is in many ways equally complex and daring in how its design relates to the natural setting, is now a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site – a designation it shares with the Statue of Liberty, Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal in India and the Great Pyramids in Egypt. The UNESCO World Heritage List recognizes the world’s most exceptional and irreplaceable cultural and natural sites. The distinction was bestowed on Fallingwater and seven other Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings as part of a serial nomination, “The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright,” on July 7, 2019, at the 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Baku, Azerbaijan. The nomination was officially inscribed to the list July 10. The eight major Wright-designed works – Unity Temple, Frederick C. Robie House, Taliesin, Hollyhock House, Fallingwater, Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House, Taliesin West and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – span 54 years of his career. According to Fallingwater Director Emerita Lynda Waggoner, each of these buildings represents “In Fallingwater Wright captured the perfect essence of our desire to live with nature, to dwell in a forested place and be at home in the natural world.” - Edgar Kaufmann jr. Fallingwater, view of southwest elevation Continued on page 4 3Wright’s influence on modern architecture in their open plans, abstraction of form, use of new technology, connection to nature and ability to adapt to modern living for housing, worship, work or leisure. This serial nomination represents the first modern architecture World Heritage designation in the United States. “We could not be more delighted with the inscription of these eight sites to the UNESCO World Heritage List,” says Lynda, who led the nearly two decades-long process. “In many ways the recognition of the contribution of Wright to world architecture exemplified by these buildings is long overdue. I’m convinced that without Wright, our architecture today would be very different.” Wright is widely considered to be the greatest American architect of the 20th century. He was 68 in 1935, an age when most people would be contemplating or enjoying retirement, when he designed Fallingwater for the Kaufmann family as a mountain retreat. Fallingwater best exemplifies Wright’s philosophy of organic architecture: the harmonious union of art and nature. His design of Fallingwater was inspired by nature’s forms and principles. The materials, colors and design motifs were all derived from the natural features of the woodland site where it was built. After Fallingwater, Wright’s popularity resurged after he and Fallingwater were featured on the cover of Time Magazine and in other national press. He went on to design other buildings, including three in the World Heritage inscription – Jacobs House, Taliesin West and Guggenheim Museum. Wright's work from the early 20th century also had significant impact on the development of modern architecture in Europe, Latin America, Australia and Japan. “We are certainly in great company with the other Wright sites and the many other prestigious and culturally important places on the World Heritage List,” says Susan Fitzsimmons, chair of the board of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which owns and operates Fallingwater. “It is a tremendous honor to be part of this important recognition of Wright’s contribution to our world culture, which underscores the importance of preserving this masterwork of architecture.” Since 1978, the United States has successfully nominated 24 properties to the World Heritage List. In World Heritage parlance, this group of Wright sites represents one “property” UNITY TEMPLE FREDERICK C. ROBIE HOUSE TALIESIN Continued from page 3 CONSERVE 45 on the list of more than 1,000 World Heritage properties around the world. Fallingwater is one of only two Pennsylvania World Heritage Sites, joining Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of State cooperate in managing nominations to the World Heritage List from the United States. To be included, UNESCO considers the international importance of a potential World Heritage Site based on its “Outstanding Universal Value” criteria, which in the Wright series is manifested in three attributes, as outlined in the nomination. First, it is architecture responsive to functional and emotional needs, achieved through geometric abstraction and spatial manipulation. Second, the design of the buildings in this series is fundamentally rooted in nature’s forms and principles. Third, the series represents an architecture conceived to be responsive to the evolving American experience, but which is universal in its appeal. The Wright nomination has been in development for nearly 20 years. A coordinated effort between the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and each of the nominated sites, the nomination advanced due to the dedication and countless hours of research, peer reviews, discussion and writing donated by independent architectural scholars, Fallingwater staff and various other volunteers, with guidance and assistance from the National Park Service. Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Vice President and Fallingwater Director Justin Gunther says he is grateful to Lynda and other architectural experts who worked on the nomination and made it possible for Fallingwater and the other sites to be listed among the world’s most treasured places. “I offer our sincerest thanks to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, National Park Service, partner sites, architectural experts and elected officials for all their efforts throughout the nomination process,” Justin notes. “Inclusion on the World Heritage List brings increased recognition to the Pittsburgh region, especially to the Laurel Highlands where visitors can experience other nearby Wright sites at Kentuck Knob and Polymath Park.” Neil Levine is a professor of history of art and architecture at Harvard University and participated in the nomination’s working group. He says it is great to see Wright joining HOLLYHOCK HOUSE FALLINGWATER HERBERT AND KATHERINE JACOBS HOUSE Continued on page 6 5The eight Wright-designed buildings in the serial nomination, "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright," are located in six states across the United States. Le Corbusier on the World Heritage List as one of the two greatest progenitors of modern architecture in the 20th century. Wright’s career spanned nearly 70 years and resulted in more than 500 buildings. Of those, more than 70 are open to the public across the U.S., each personally tailored to the client and its setting. Justin, who also helped prepare the nomination while serving as Fallingwater’s curator of buildings and collections from 2007-2011, says Wright redefined standards of architecture and modern domestic life in Fallingwater that are still very relevant today. “Fallingwater is a house unlike any other that has the power to demonstrate how man can respect and live in harmony with the natural world – an idea with much relevance to everyday issues we face in our contemporary lives,” he adds. “Buildings like Fallingwater can have profound influence in enhancing our understanding of the environments we live in today, and the ones we are planning for the future.” For now, Lynda will continue in her role as chair to lead and coordinate the activities of the Frank Lloyd Wright World Heritage Council. This council was established to support the responsible conservation and promotion of the eight World Heritage Sites. Fallingwater has been open to the public as a museum since 1964 and is also designated as a National Historic Landmark and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Treasure. TALIESIN WEST SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM Continued from page 5 • Unity Temple (designed 1905, constructed 1906-1909–Oak Park, Ill.) • Frederick C. Robie House (designed 1908, constructed 1910–Chicago, Ill.) • Taliesin (begun 1911, constructed 1911-1959–Spring Green, Wis.) • Hollyhock House (designed 1918, constructed 1918-1921–Los Angeles, Calif.) • Fallingwater (designed 1935, constructed 1936-1939–Mill Run, Pa.) • Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House (designed 1936, constructed 1936-1937–Madison, Wis.) • Taliesin West (begun 1938–Scottsdale, Ariz.) • Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (designed 1943, constructed 1956-1959–New York, N.Y.) The buildings are listed in order by design date. There is debate among scholars regarding the dates associated with these works. The dates used for the nomination are those preferred by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Use your mobile device to scan and read the nomination dossier, “The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.” CONSERVE 67 The coterie tasked with planning, developing and revising the dossier to nominate buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright to the UNESCO World Heritage List faced adversity throughout the long and arduous 20-year process. While change and uncertainty became the norm over time, there was one unwavering constant: Fallingwater Director Emerita Lynda Waggoner. In 1997 and with one year under her belt as the director of Fallingwater, Lynda volunteered at the request of her predecessor Tom Schmidt to lead and revive the idea of a Wright World Heritage List nomination. That meant resuscitating information from a 1991 attempt to nominate Taliesin and Taliesin West for World Heritage List consideration. Although that attempt was unsuccessful, UNESCO recommended that the United States consider a comprehensive study of Wright’s entire body of work for consideration. “A lot of quality work and thought went into that early nomination and UNESCO’s evaluation and recommendations gave us reason to be optimistic for future consideration,” Lynda says. Nearly 20-year Process to Obtain World Heritage Status Fallingwater's Fallingwater, bird’s-eye view looking north Continued on page 8 7“I don’t think any of us really understood how long and difficult it would be to undertake a World Heritage nomination.” Thanks to a 2003 National Endowment for the Arts grant and other private support, the journey to expand the list and consider various Wright sites began with assembling a committee of restoration architects and architectural historians with expertise in Wright’s work. Wright property owners and managers, including Fallingwater staff, were also pivotal partners of the committee. Lynda, the committee and the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy began researching and considering a wide variety of Wright-designed buildings and defining the stringent criteria for World Heritage List eligibility. A founding board member of the Building Conservancy, Lynda says the process was a team effort from the start that included guidance from the National Park Service. “We relied on the steadfast help of all of the committee members, not only for their unwavering support and encouragement, but for the broad array of expertise they brought to the table,” she adds. For sites to qualify for World Heritage inscription, they must satisfy at least one of 10 criteria, as well as meet the conditions of authenticity and integrity. Buildings that have undergone significant changes, including renovations or reconstruction, did not meet the requirement of authenticity. This unfortunately disqualified many Wright sites. “It took us several years to develop specific criteria to match the World Heritage specifications. We took about 400 Wright buildings into consideration, all of which had displays of Wright’s genius through impressive design features and use of materials,” Lynda adds. “It was extremely difficult for us to make those “We relied on the steadfast help of all of the committee members, not only for their unflagging support and encouragement, but for the broad array of expertise they brought to the table.” - Lynda S. Waggoner Fallingwater, view of west elevation U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Lee Litzenberger, Fallingwater Director Emerita Lynda Waggoner (center) and others share smiles and compliments after the UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed Fallingwater and seven other Wright sites. Continued from page 7 89 decisions knowing we would disappoint many site operators who cared so passionately for these buildings.” After the several years of extensive review, the buildings were narrowed from 400 to 10. “We had a major learning curve in understanding how the UNESCO reviewers would approach our nomination: the focus needed to be on the significance of the buildings alone and not on Wright the architect. Trying to downplay the importance of that huge personality yet showcase his genius was not an easy task,” Lynda explains. It wasn’t until 2005 that the application was submitted for inclusion to the U.S. World Heritage Tentative List, which identifies properties that the U.S. might officially nominate over the next decade for World Heritage inscription. After an extensive public comment period, the application was accepted in 2007 and, in the following year, officially added by the U.S. Department of the Interior to the tentative list. Lynda continued to spearhead the nomination efforts while managing her full-time role as Fallingwater director. “Acceptances on the tentative list were a huge deal and provided even more motivation for us,” Lynda says, while acknowledging she and others spent many late evenings and countless hours working on the nomination. “We were all eager to stay steadfast to the process as we could feel that all of the hard work was truly paying off.” Yet the nomination still required another seven years of peer reviews and numerous rounds of writing, editing and revisions to the multidimensional information on all 10 buildings. Lynda is grateful to the more than 50 people who were part of the collaborative process over the years to bring forth the nomination, including substantial contributions by Fallingwater Director of Preservation and Collections Scott Perkins and Fallingwater Director and Conservancy Vice President Justin Gunther. “We were so fortunate to have Lynda spearhead this process,” says Scott, who worked on the nomination since 2006. “Her immeasurable knowledge, dedication and leadership abilities helped guide our success from the nomination’s preparation to inscription.” At the World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2016, the U.S. put forth the nomination of 10 Wright-designed sites to the World Heritage List, but the committee decided to “refer” the nomination for revisions and future consideration. Lynda continued to oversee the final two-year process and worked closely with partners and scholars to revise the nomination and rework the justification for inscription. As we know, their hard work and dedication paid off, resulting in the inscription of “The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright” to the World Heritage List. “This inscription is one of the most satisfying and pivotal moments of my professional career,” Lynda notes. “This type of achievement is rarely accomplished in isolation. Many of the people who helped make this possible were with me on July 7 in Baku, Azerbaijan. That day, and all of the dedication and support that got us there, will be something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.” Fallingwater appreciates the many individuals who contributed countless hours of time and knowledge to the preparation of the nomination. Use your mobile device to scan and review the list. The following individuals were in Azerbaijan to witness “The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright” inscription to the UNESCO World Heritage List: Michael Rousek, U.S. Embassy; Justin Gunther, Fallingwater; Scott Perkins, Fallingwater; Phyllis Ellin, National Park Service; Stuart Graff, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation; Stephen Morris, National Park Service; Lee Litzenberger, U.S. Embassy; Lynda Waggoner, Fallingwater; Barbara Gordon, Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy; Jeffrey Herr, Hollyhock House; Jonathan Putnam, National Park Service; and Yvette Wong, U.S. State Department. 9Next >