The recent Midwestern rains and rising floodwaters threaten the Farnsworth House in Plano, IL (which will reopen for tours next month) brought water to just below the elevated floor:

Floodwaters crested on Friday afternoon, August 24, just below the main floor of the house, which was constructed in 1951 on six-foot high piers along the banks of the Fox River. Following torrential rains during the previous week, the staff of Landmarks Illinois–which operates the historic site–implemented an emergency flood plan, raising the house’s furniture on crates and removing other valuable articles. An August 28th
Chicago Tribune article provides more information.

While Pruned calls this design a quasi-failure, I think they protest too much. I do recall from history that the house was lifted on stilts for this very reason; which is quite a Modernist reaction to nature’s wrath.

This is similar to Philip Johnson’s Roofless Church in New Harmony, IN (worth a visit) which is sited just out the Wabash River flood plain. The project is surrounded by a masonry wall with only two voids: the entry, on the major axis, and on the secondary axis a void which functions as an alter to contemplate the rising spring and fall floods. Johnson eloquently designs with Nature, and all of her seasons to create a quite nice contemplative space.
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• Rising floodwaters threaten the Farnsworth House
• Photos of the Farnesworth House
• Photos of the Roofless Church