Remembering Frank Gehry
So sad to hear of Frank Gehry’s passing. At 96, though, he has left quite a legacy. He was perhaps best known for the otherworldly Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, a building that transforms as the light changes, softly undulating yet also sharp and metallic.
The Guggenheim was revolutionary when it opened in 1997, heralding a new era in computer-led design. It helped transform the northern Spanish city into a major tourist destination, giving rise to what became known as the ‘Bilbao effect’.
Of course, it was not everyone’s cup of tea. This was architecture that shouted, perhaps a little louder than the works it housed. But you cannot deny the impact Gehry’s style had on the architectural world.
Born in Canada to Jewish immigrant parents, he changed his surname from Goldberg to Gehry in response to antisemitism. His roots remained a strong part of his identity. He moved to Los Angeles, initially working as a lorry driver before studying architecture.
Gehry later worked under Victor Gruen, a pioneer of the modern shopping mall. He also tried city planning, but became disillusioned with the direction of modern architecture. It was through his relationship with the art community that he really found his niche, collaborating on buildings that brought outlandish concepts to life. One example is the Binoculars Building, completed in 1991 with artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.
His buildings were like giant sculptures, rarely featuring a straight line and vying for attention against rather ordinary urban neighbours. He favoured titanium and stainless steel in many of his designs, exploring how they could be shaped and bent into forms not previously possible in architectural design.
In 1989, aged 60, he received architecture’s highest honour, the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The panel likened his designs to jazz, ‘replete with improvisation and a lively, unpredictable spirit’, and praised his ‘highly refined, sophisticated and adventurous aesthetic’.
Not always to my taste, but definitely praiseworthy. Critics compared Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles to a ‘pile of broken crockery’ and an ‘emptied waste basket’. Gehry’s response was wonderfully simple: ‘At least they’re looking.’
Of course, many architects turn their attention to chair design at some point. We featured one of Gehry’s chairs in our popular 2014 poster calendar of classic chair design: the Wiggle Chair, designed in 1972.
It has been a pleasure to look at his work again. You can see the passion and sheer fun expressed at an impressive scale. His is a legacy that will live on, continuing to make people stop in their tracks and look up.
You can see more of Gehry’s work pictured here.
Comments
Post a Comment