By James H. Park
All that the Kaufmann family wanted was a simple summer weekend cottage by their ?favorite stream, called Bear Run, some 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. What they got was a masterpiece, designed by the capricious and eccentric architect Frank Lloyd Wright and aptly named Fallingwater.
Edgar J. Kaufmann owned a department store in Pittsburgh during the Great Depression of the 1930s. For many years Bear Run had provided a rustic place for the Kaufmann family and their employees to get away from the city and spend time embraced in the quiet fortunes of nature. The family especially enjoyed picnicking beside a 20-foot waterfall, which sang its tireless song throughout the beautiful wooded area. And it was beside this waterfall that Edgar Kaufmann engaged the noted but mostly unemployed 67-year-old architect from Wisconsin to build a weekend home for his family.
Wright was always long on vision but short on money and execution. After many months of delay and thousands of dollars, Kauffman informed Wright that he would be driving from Milwaukee to the architect’s studio that very day in order to see plans for the house. Wright’s apprentices afterward noted that the client’s imminent arrival did not seem to bother their noted teacher at all.
Rumor has it that Wright had not drawn even one line of the proposed house but had done extensive studies of the site. The only instructions Wright gave to his assistants was “to keep my pencils sharp!” With topological map in hand, the ever-confident Wright made some preliminary sketches and warmly greeted Kaufmann a few hours later.
Live With the Water
After Wright explained how the house would not sit next to the falls but be cantilevered above it, the very pragmatic Kaufmann remarked, “I thought you would place the house near the waterfall, not over it.” Imagine his frustration! Instead of looking at the beautiful waterfall through his front window, the house would completely arch over the falls, so it could not be seen.

As he looked at the bewildered face of his client, Wright made this simple yet profound remark: “E.J., I want you to live with the waterfall—not just to look at it, but for it to become an integral part of your lives.”
This is one of the earliest ecologically sensitive statements made in the twentieth century. Here is perhaps what Wright was saying: “If I put the house next to the waterfall, then there is a separation between the house and the waterfall, there is a distance between the observer and what is observed. But if the river runs through the house, then the home and the water are one, and the distance between you and the waterfall evaporates.
Unusual Design
E. J. Kaufmann must have been in a rare creative mood that day, because he signed off on the plans for the strange house over the waterfall. It was one of the first structures in the world to use reinforced concrete, and it immediately became the most famous house in the world.
The house, with its strong horizontal lines, juts out from the rock outcroppings and comes to rest directly over the falling water. While the visual effect of a house stretched over a descending stream is very dramatic, the sound of the water naturally and continually reverberating through the home is a wonder to hear. The house was featured on the cover of Time magazine and, along with Hoover Dam, became a brilliant light of inspiration during the dark years of the Depression. The last third of Frank Lloyd’s life was his most influential as he continued to blend human habitations with their natural surroundings.
Water of Life
Fallingwater. Three thousand years before the sound of water would fill the Kauffman home with its lilting verse, the shepherd king David sang that God’s faithful children were to be like trees, “planted by streams of water” (Ps. 1:3).
Just as trees need a steady supply of water in order to grow, the hearts of God’s children need a constant, daily flow of life-giving water. According to Psalm 1:2, this water is the Word of God: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” As Fallingwater was transformed by the sound of the living stream, the Master Architect longs to have His Living Water constantly echo in the lives of His believing children so they might bear fruit.
Isaiah 37:31 tells us that we are to “take root below and bear fruit above.” Like a root, the spiritual life is often hidden, in the dark and full of trials and uncertainty. But if we as Christian disciples truly desire to be “rooted and grounded” in the love of God (Eph. 3:17, KJV), then we must intentionally choose day by day, moment by moment, to abide in God’s Word. Jesus reminded His disciples of all ages that if they do the one thing of abiding in Him who is the Vine (John 15:5), the Living Water (see John 4:14), and the Sun of Righteousness (Mal. 4:2), we will yield the fruit of the Spirit in season, our leaf will not wither in times of distress, and the Lord will prosper us in all that we do (Ps. 1:3).
The “streams” that the tree is planted by in Psalm 1:3 are not naturally occurring waters, but an irrigation ditch that must be intentionally dug. Like the children of Israel in the wilderness, we must gather the manna daily in order to be nourished by the miracle of His Word. Without this intentional daily abiding, our roots will soon become dry, and our spiritual life shriveled.
Fallingwater
Some places on our planet are as much a sanctuary as a church. Such is Fallingwater. Standing below the house near the stream, you hardly believe what you see and hear. Both the design and the placement of the house are so extraordinary that it constantly invites you to gaze at it again and again. And the sound of that ever-running stream fills the house with a quiet solemnity that is not soon forgotten.
A few years ago I visited Fallingwater with my cousin Jerry, who lives near Pittsburgh. I had gotten together with him earlier in the day in order to visit his mother, who was nicknamed “Nippy.” Aunt Nippy had been my mother’s favorite sister, and I wanted to see her in the convalescent home where she was staying. It was a very touching moment for me as I said a simple prayer in the presence of my devout Catholic aunt and cousin.
After our visit with his mother, I informed Jerry that I wanted to visit Fallingwater, which was a little more than a one-hour drive from his house. I felt sure that since he had taken some architectural classes in college and lived so close to the world’s most famous house, he had visited there at least once. But to my amazement, although he had lived there his entire life, he had never taken the time to visit the most famous house in the world. I immediately decided to rectify the situation, and we had a wonderful afternoon exploring the rich audio and visual blessings of that place.
Drink Deeply
Let us not be like those who have only heard about the Word but have never transplanted themselves beside its rich currents. Even a weekly osmosis of Living Water from Sabbath school and church is not enough to meet the needs of our spiritual lives that are daily challenged by the wilderness of the world. There is only one remedy—move to the Living Water. Listen to its lilting verse. Let it become a constant, refreshing part of your life so you can bear fruit and be a blessing to others until Jesus comes.
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James H. Park is an associate professor of discipleship and mission at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) in the Philippines, where he serves as chair of the applied theology department. This article was published May 12, 2011.