[Images: Cape Schank house, jcba.com.au; Fallingwater, blog.lib.umn.edu; Stahl House, Case Study #22, modac.org;
/Artwork: designslinger]

I was reading an Apartment Therapy post when I stumbled upon this picture of a massive piece
of architecture jutting out over the landscape. It is a house designed by the Australian architectural firm of Jackson Clements Burrows, and sits on a high dune in Cape Schank Victoria. I was amazed by the massive cantilever (more on that in tomorrow's post) projecting the house out in to space. It immediately reminded me of two other residential commissions that pushed their inhabitants, and the boundaries of architecture, to new heights; Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and Pierre Koenig's Case Study House #22.

Wright was asked to design a  little get away in the early 1930s, for Pittsburgh department store
magnate Edgar Kaufman, on a piece of property that family had owned for years. Wright being Wright, he chose to place the house directly over a waterfall where the family camped, instead of adjacent to it. He pushed the building out and over the water by using cantilevered balconies that were tied into rock and concrete. The effect was dramatic to say the least, especially when photographed from below the fall itself.

[Images: Cape Schank house pool area; Stahl house pool area, archiatlas.org /Artwork: designslinger]

Pierre Koenig designed a home for the Stahl family which is also known as Case Study House #22.
Built in 1960, the house was one of several designed in an experimental housing project sponsored by an L.A. magazine, Arts & Architecture. The site was a small hillside lot. Using concrete and steel secured to the rock base, in the same way Wright did, Koenig pushed the living room of the Stahl house over the edge to give the home, and occupant, the sense of floating on air. The Cape Schank pool area, and the Stahl pool area show a remarkable similarity in design.

The Cape Schank house is a further step in pushing boundaries in a line of architectural innovation.
Wright did something never before seen in a house, Koenig took a difficult site and provided his clients with an awe inspiring place to call home. I was very lucky to have been able to spend some time in the Stahl house a few years ago. We were working on the movie Galaxy Quest and the house was used as the Tim Allen character's residence in the film. It fit perfectly with the role and the story line of the picture. We were very lucky to have had the opportunity to use the location and I was so excited at the opportunity to see the home up close.

[Images: Cape Schank house living room; Stahl house living room, archiatlas.org; /Artwork: designslinger]

We prepped for a few days so I got to spend some time there before the house was overrun
with crew members. It was a thrilling experience. Standing at the edge of the concrete pool surround, looking out over the city was scary and thrilling. Entering the living room and standing at the huge glass window - you really did feel like you were in a room flying over the landscape. It was an awesome experience. I hope the owner's of the Cape Schank house have as many wonderful years in their home as the Stahl's told us they had enjoyed. And, although Mr. Kaufman had some problems with good old Mr. Wright, apparently he did delight in his little get away that sat above the falling water.