Tag: architecutre

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FALLINGWATER [AN ICONIC HOME]

After the holidays, I went to visit family in Pittsburg and a few of us traveled to Fallingwater the house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania. The three-story residence was built over a waterfall on Bear Run stream, and designed as a weekend retreat for the Kaufmann family, who were the owners of the Kaufmann’s Department Store in Pittsburg. Since 1963 the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy [WPC] have operated Fallingwater as a tourist site and maintains the 5,000 acres surrounding the house.

Architects working from the master bedroom porch.

There are preservation cycles that occur every 20-25 years, and in 2024 Fallingwater began a $7 million dollar renovation project to address the persistent water leaks and structural issues of a home built over a waterfall. Our guide mentioned the house has always leaked, making waterproofing a constant battle. It was interesting seeing the architects work, as water has been a threat to the home’s integrity with its flat roofs and strong horizontal lines for many years. The project will be completed by spring of 2026

Travel stylishly,
Kathleen

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Hagia Sophia

 

Structurally an architectural wonder and aesthetically an incredible monument for both the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Hagia Sophia is a former Greek Orthodox cathedral that later became an Ottoman imperial mosque, and is now a museum in the Turkish Republic.

Built in 537 as a cathedral in Constantinople with two floors centered on a nave that holds the great domed ceiling measuring 180 feet above the floor, along with smaller domes that extend upward. An engineering marvel for its time of great architectural beauty.

During the Byzantine period the apse was decorated with mosaics of a representation of the Virgin Mary with a young Jesus Christ on her lap. Most mosaics are made of pieces of stone or glass of different colors known tesserae.

Travel stylishly,
K