The outstanding monument and the adjacent 202 hectares of land were donated to the local conservation organization Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963 by the son of the building's owner, Edgar Kaufman Jr. One of the conditions for the donation was that no new structures will be built in line of sight around the villa.
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has now decided to build six cottages on the grounds adjacent to Wright's construction to "support the educational program" (Falling Water - again, at the behest of the donor - acts as a community education center): the cottages are intended for researchers and students.
It should be admitted that the cottages will be located at some distance from the monument, and they will not be visible from there, and that the option chosen out of the six projects submitted for the competition is "distinguished" by imperceptibility. If the other five bureaus have proposed to build real buildings, more or less inspired by Falling Water or the image of a lumberjack or hunter's forest hut, John Patkau's workshop suggests digging dugouts. These cave-like dwellings will be built on the gentle slopes of the Bear Run, which also houses the villa itself.
Since the protected area around the House above the Waterfall has increased tenfold since the 1960s and is protected not only as a buffer area around the heritage site, but also as an intrinsic natural monument, the new buildings will be resource efficient as much as possible. Environmentally friendly building materials are used for them, and they will be heated and cooled in a geothermal way; it is also envisaged to recycle all kitchen waste and recycle waste water.
