Rizzoli Publications | Fallingwater The Model by Paul Bonfilio | Book Design

Paul Bonfilio (yes, that’s my dad) built an architectural model of one of the great masterpieces of modern architecture – Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater – and wrote a book about it. The model was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in NYC for their permanent collection and the book was publish by Rizzoli, New York.

Dad is an architect whose side hustle was repairing and building architectural models. He spent 2 days photographing and measuring every inch of the actual house and it took him 2 years to build the model. Everything was researched and replicated down to the very smallest detail. His experience and obsessive documentation of the project culminated in a book which thoroughly describes and illustrates his process in building the model. Dad rightfully insisted that the accent color match the paint color Wright used at Fallingwater – “Cherokee Red.” The layout, square shape of the book and graphic elements throughout, are a nod to Wright’s love of geometric shapes and they way he built into nature.