Fallingwater—Frank Lloyd Wright

Fallingwater， the house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright for Edgar Kaufmann1） in southwestern Pennsylvania， hangs over a waterfall using the architectural device known as the cantilever2）. Wright described his architectural style as "organic"—in harmony with nature， and though Fallingwater reveals vocabulary drawn from the International style in certain aspects， this country house exhibits so many features typical of Wright's natural style that the house very much engages with3） its surroundings.

Fallingwater has provided enjoyment to many people over the years： as a stimulating weekend retreat4） for the Kaufmann family and their friends， as a source of pride to the architect and his associates， and now—cared for by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy—as an exceptional experience for visitors from near and far.

流水別墅是由美國建筑師弗蘭克·勞埃德·賴特為埃德加·考夫曼設計的住宅，位于賓夕法尼亞州西南部，利用了被稱為懸臂梁的建筑構造，懸在瀑布上方。賴特把自己的建筑風格描述為“有機的”——與大自然和諧一致。雖然流水別墅在某些方面展示了國際風格中的專業術語，但這座鄉間別墅與周圍的環境非常協調，展現出如此多的賴特自然風格的典型特點。

多年以來，流水別墅給很多人帶來了樂趣：它曾是考夫曼一家人和朋友們的一個令人興奮的周末休息寓所，也曾是建筑師賴特本人和他的工作伙伴們驕傲的源泉，而現在它則是遠近游客的一次非凡體驗——由西賓夕法尼亞州自然資源保護組織照管。

When Wright came to the site he appreciated the powerful sound of the falls， the vitality5） of the young forest， the dramatic rock ledges and boulders6）； these were elements to be interwoven with the serenely7） soaring spaces of his structure. But Wright's insight penetrated more deeply. He understood that people were creatures of nature， hence an architecture which conformed to8） nature would conform to what was basic in people. For example， although all of Fallingwater is opened by broad bands of windows， people inside are sheltered as in a deep cave， secure in the sense of hill behind them. Their attention is directed toward the outside by low ceilings； no lordly9） hall sets the tone but， instead， the luminous10） textures of the woodland， rhythmically enframed11）. The materials of the structure blend with the colorings of rocks and trees， while occasional accents12） are provided by bright furnishings， like wildflowers or birds outside. The paths within the house， stairs and passages， meander13） without formality or urgency， and the house hardly has a main entrance； there are many ways in and out. Sociability and privacy are both available， as are the comforts of home and the adventures of the seasons. So people are cosseted14） into relaxing， into exploring the enjoyment of a life refreshed in nature. Visitors， too， in due measure experience Wright's architecture as an expansion of living.endprint

Fallingwater opened a new chapter in American architecture， and is perhaps rightly considered Wright's greatest work， for he was first and foremost15） an architect of houses. In its careful yet startling integration of stone walls anchored to the bedrock16） and modern reinforced concrete17） terraces hovering in space， an architecture critic states that Fallingwater may be understood as one of the great critiques18） of the modern movement in architecture， and simultaneously19） one of its masterpieces. Yet we cannot help feeling that there is more to this design than even that； this is an architecture that seizes our imagination， letting us see space and habitation in ways that seem new， but which we simultaneously feel to be ancient， somehow fundamental to our human nature.

Fallingwater is famous； from all over the world many thousands of visitors come each year to its remote site. What draws them？—a most unusual house in an exceptionally picturesque20） setting and something more， a reputation.

In 1936， even before it was finished， knowledgeable people talked about this new work of Frank Lloyd Wright. After a time a consensus21） arose that Wright had created a masterwork that appealed not only to professionals but to the public generally. Fallingwater was not much like the earlier architecture that had made Wright famous； it was just as distant from the avant-garde22） styles of the 1930s， and surely like any popular "dream house". Yet now that Fallingwater has been tested by half-a-century of the widest exposure， one can say that it marks a high point in Wright's vast works， in American architecture， in the architecture of this century， and possibly in all architecture.

當年賴特來到別墅的選址地時，他欣賞這里聲音宏壯的瀑布、生機勃勃的幼齡林、佶屈聱牙的巖石壁架和嶙峋的巨石；這些元素都將與其建筑物內寧靜又高聳的空間緊密結合起來。但賴特的見解更加深刻。他懂得人是大自然的生物，因此一座與自然相契合的建筑將會順應人的本性。比如，雖然整座流水別墅通過寬大的窗戶與外界相通，但室內的人如同身處深深的洞穴中一般被遮蔽起來，感覺身后有山，很有安全感。低矮的天花板把人們的注意力引向室外；沒有氣派十足的大廳為別墅定下基調，但卻有明亮的森林有韻律地成為別墅的窗中景。別墅所用的建材與巖石和樹木的顏色十分協調，而一些色彩鮮艷的裝飾品（如窗外的野花或飛鳥）則給別墅增加了一些偶爾的亮點。屋內的小道、樓梯和走廊蜿蜒曲折，一點都不死板和急促；整棟房子幾乎沒有一個主要的入口，有很多可以進出的路。這里社交和隱私并重；這里既有家的舒適，又有四季的奇異之旅。因而人們可以恣意放松，可以恣意探索生命在大自然中重煥活力的那種樂趣。游客可以充分地親身體驗賴特的這座建筑，把它作為生活的一種擴展。

流水別墅開啟了美國建筑業的新篇章，被認為是賴特最杰出的作品，這種說法可能是對的，因為他首先是位住宅建筑師。流水別墅把固定在基巖上的石墻與懸在半空的現代鋼筋混凝土打造的露臺小心謹慎又令人吃驚地融合在了一起。有鑒于此，一位建筑批評家說流水別墅可以被看做是對現代建筑運動最偉大的評論之一，同時也是這一運動中誕生的杰作之一。但我們不禁感到這個設計的意義甚至比這還要多，這座建筑抓住了我們的想象力，把空間和居所以一種看似新穎但同時又給人以復古感覺的、某種程度上對人類本性絕對必要的方式展現在我們眼前。

流水別墅有名氣，每年都有成千上萬的游客從世界各地來到它偏遠的所在地參觀。是什么吸引了他們？是一幢坐落在風景絕美的環境中的最別致的住宅，還有某種東西——這座別墅的聲譽。endprint

早在1936年別墅尚未建成的時候，一些有學識的人就已經開始談論弗蘭克·勞埃德·賴特的這個新作了。一段時間后，人們普遍認為賴特創造了一個杰出的建筑，它不僅吸引了專業人士，還廣泛地吸引了公眾。流水別墅與早前令賴特聲名鵲起的建筑不太相同，它遠非20世紀30年代流行的前衛風格，而無疑像是任何一個廣受大眾喜愛的“夢寐以求的住宅”。不過既然流水別墅業已經受住了半個世紀最大范圍公開展覽的考驗，我們可以說，這座別墅在賴特的大量作品中、在美國的建筑業、在20世紀建筑業，以及可能整個建筑業中，都占據著較高的地位。

1. Edgar Kaufmann： 埃德加·考夫曼（1885～1955），德裔美國商人，慈善家

2. cantilever [?k?nt?li?v?（r）] n. 懸臂，是一種只有一端錨固的梁，將荷載傳遞到支座。

3. engage with： 緊密結合

4. retreat [r??tri?t] n. 隱居處；靜養所

5. vitality [va??t?l?ti] n. 活力

6. boulder [?b??ld?（r）] n. 巨石

7. serenely [s??ri?nli] adv. 寧靜地；安詳地

8. conform to： 順應；符合

9. lordly [?l??dli] adj. 貴族氣派的；高貴的；宏偉的

10. luminous [?lu?m?n?s] adj. 發亮的

11. enframe [en'fre?m] vt. 配以框架；裝上框子

12. accent [??ksent] n. 【畫】高光（畫面上用色彩表現的最亮點）

13. meander [mi??nd?（r）] vi. （河流、道路等）蜿蜒而行，迂回曲折

14. cosset [?k?s?t] vt. 寵愛

15. first and foremost： 首先，首要的是

16. bedrock [?bedr?k] n. 基巖（松軟的沙、土層下的巖石）

17. reinforced concrete： 鋼筋混凝土

18. critique [kr??ti?k] n. 評論

19. simultaneously

[?s?ml?te?ni?sli] adv. 同時地

慷慨的捐贈

流水別墅建成之后即名揚四海。它的主人埃德加·考夫曼認為流水別墅是一所絕妙的棲身之處，但它更是一件藝術品，應該讓更多人有機會欣賞，因為它超越了一般含義，住宅和基地在一起構成了一個人類所希望的與自然結合、對等和融合的形象。于是在1963年，賴特去世后的第四年，考夫曼決定將流水別墅捐贈給當地政府，永遠供人參觀。在捐贈交接儀式上，考夫曼在致辭中這樣說道：“It is a work by man for man， not by a man for a man.... It is a public resource， not a private indulgence. （這是一件人類為自身所作的作品，不是一個人為另一個人所作的……它是一筆公眾的財富，而不是私人擁有的珍品。）”endprint