The Ithaca gorges rise up above the swirling eddies, creating a towering negative in the earth that overwhelms any visitor that happens to be caught in the middle. The Sagan House, situated on an outcropping above Ithaca Falls, forms the boundary of the site. The intervention of the scholars' residence imitates the mass of the rock walls balanced by the third element of the bridge, both in the balance provided by the land and the large volume, and in the balance between the two smaller volumes.