High School Residency

The Fallingwater High School Residency program is an interdisciplinary architecture program for students interested in exploring environmental and design related issues in the context of one of America’s most significant works of architecture, Fallingwater. 

The weeklong program provides an opportunity for students to examine and explore a host of Frank Lloyd Wright’s ideas, including his notion of an organic architecture, while living and studying in the midst of this historic building. Situated in the scenic Laurel Highlands of western Pennsylvania, the house serves as a catalyst to investigate the art and science of building, environmental stewardship and sustainable design practices. Students will engage in a series of hands-on exercises focusing on space, light, structure, and the nature of materials with special emphasis on creative problem solving, ecology, and the role of nature in design. Program activities include individual and collaborative projects, drawing and model making exercises, and daily working sessions in and around Frank Lloyd Wright’s timeless architectural masterpiece.

Dates

 

Residency 1:

     July 8-14, 2010

Residency 2:

     July 22-28, 2010

Tuition

$700 (includes room and board)

Features

  • Up-close personal study and experience of Fallingwater
  • Architectural, landscape design and building projects with a focus on the house/site relationship
  • In-depth, scholarly discussions and applications of Wright's principles of organic architecture
  • Drawing, design, and materials workshops
  • Lively workshops in creative expression

Residency 1

with Aron Temkin, AIA
July 8-14, 2010
 
Residency 1 will consider how Wright’s ideas about design, materials, and the natural environment informed his work. We will consider their lasting impact on contemporary architecture and on sustainable ways of building. Studio projects provide students with an introduction to the range of experiments typical of architecture school including explorations of structure, material, light, landscape, and context. Part of each day is spent drawing in and around Fallingwater: taking advantage of this rare opportunity.
Excursions include a daylong trip into Pittsburgh. During this trip, issues of the residency are considered within urban settings and within contemporary architectural practice.
Aron Temkin    , AIA is a licensed architect, a professor of design and the Director of the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic University.

Residency 2

with Peter Goldstein, AIA
July 22-28, 2010
 
Residency 2 will focus on environmental and design related issues as they relate to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Students will engage in a series of hands-on interdisciplinary exercises focusing on space, light and shadow, structure, and the nature of materials with special emphasis on creative problem solving and the role of nature in design. Program activities include individual and collaborative projects, drawing and model making exercises, explorations in film, nature walks, and daily working sessions in and around Fallingwater and other works by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Peter Goldstein, AIA is an educator and licensed architect from Dallas, Texas. For the past 10 years, he has taught in the DallasISD architecture magnet program at Skyline High School.

Download Poster

Facilities

Student residents live dormitory-style at the Kirkpatrick House at High Meadow, a split-level house located on the scenic Bear Run Nature Reserve, within walking distance from Fallingwater. The highlands setting, with unsurpassed views of nearby Laurel Ridge, will recharge your creativity…and your spirit.

We hold classes at the adjacent open-air studio and on-site at Fallingwater. The group prepares breakfast and some evening meals; we eat lunch at the Fallingwater Café, which features delicious, fresh cooking based on seasonal ingredients.

Eligibility

Any student who has completed their sophomore, junior, or senior year in high school, but who has not entered college, is eligible to apply.

To Apply

We are currently accepting applications.  All applications must be postmarked by April 15, 2010. Deadline Extension:  All applications must be postmarked by April 30, 2010.

Your application must include the following information:

  • Name/address/phone/email address
  • Parents' names/work or day phone
  • School name/address/principal's name
  • How you heard about the program
  • 300-word essay describing a building or significant space you have experienced. How did the architecture affect your experience or outlook?
  • Hand drawing of the building or space mentioned in your essay, no larger than 9"x12". (Note: only applications containing both essays and drawings will be considered, though participants are NOT selected based on drawing abilities)
  • Two letters of recommendation from teachers or adults who know of your interest in architecture (these may be mailed separately).

Mail your application to:

Jennifer Hiebert
Education Assistant
Fallingwater
PO Box R
Mill Run, PA 15464

More Information

To be contacted about future Residencies, or to be put on our mailing list, please contact our Education Assistant, Jennifer Hiebert, at jhiebert@paconserve.org or by calling 724-329-7826.