ARTICLE: Recreating a Masterpiece: A Successful Marriage of Cast-in-Place and Shotcrete / by Kerri Allmer

Frank Lloyd Wright continues to leave his mark on the world of architecture, design, and construction. This project, located in Bridgewater, CT, drew its inspiration directly from Wright’s architectural masterpiece, Fallingwater, a house designed to rise above the waterfall over which it is built.

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Wright’s philosophy of organic architecture places strong emphasis on harmony between art and nature. Simply put, the architecture must seamlessly blend into the environment and use site-appropriate shapes and materials. This design principle does not mean that all structures must be freeform,per se; they can be linear and still be considered an organic fit if it complements its natural surroundings.

The client’s home, a modernist approach to a multi-tiered, open-air glass and concrete installation, exemplified organic architecture and already bore striking similarities to Fallingwater. Using this as the starting point, the design of the pool became a direct reflection of the existing straight-lined house and the surrounding landscape. The result was an upper two-sided vanishing edge swimming pool with vertical spillway drops into varying catch pools that meander along the hillside slope to the bottom of the structure 20 ft below, reminiscent of the Fallingwater house perched atop its cascading waterfall.

To read the full Shotcrete Magazine article, click here.