New Fallingwater
Architecture aficionados will be well familiar with Fallingwater, the iconic modernist house perched on a rock face with cantilevered floors overlooking a waterfall. Tucked away in an idyllic corner of California is a more contemporary house but with a setting and design every bit as breathtaking as the Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece.
Suspension House is a substantial remodel of an existing two-storey house which was built over a creek, masterminded by San Francisco based Fougeron Architecture with the brief to enhance the connection between the house and the surrounding nature. Out went the intrusive columns built onto the creek-bed to support the house, in came a steel structure which anchored the building to the rock faces on either side, thereby elevating the house over the creek like a suspension bridge. The construction of the building was also upgraded with liberal use of steel and glass.
Whilst the two lower floors adhered to the shape and size of the original house, as required by the strict planning requirements, the architects were able to add a new floor on top. This houses two bedrooms and a master suite, complete with a large terrace with a hot tub in the centre. The middle floor is an open plan living dining kitchen space, with stairs leading down to a spacious guest suite on the lower floor.
Inside, the house luxuriates in light and space yet still feels intimate and in touch with nature, thanks to the glass curtain walls and extensive skylights. There are terraces on every floor, perfect for indoor-outdoor living. The interior space is kept simple with a restrained palette of colour and materials - black steel, white walls, glass windows and grey tiled floors - all the better for showcasing the idyllic views, especially of the waterfall and rock pool at the back of the house.
With such considered design the Suspension House is surely a worthy successor to Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater.
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Product Inspiration
Sleek, minimalist furniture are perfect for interiors designed to minimise distractions from beautiful views. Try the Atelier sofa from Stellar Works, the Gogan low tables from Moroso and the Waves sideboard from Milla&Milli.
For elegant and discrete lighting go for the Infinito wall / suspension light from Davide Groppi, the Blacknote Triplet floor light from LZF and the Dome table light from Mater.
Accessories in simple, sculptural shapes work brilliantly in minimalist spaces. Try the Cobra Hexa vase from 101 Copenhagen, the Andromeda Bowl from Agrippa and the Inpli vase from Atelier Polyhedre.
