Frank Gehry

Frank Owen Gehry, CC (born Ephraim Goldberg, February 28, 1929) is an architect known for his sculptural approach to building design. He is best known for building curvaceous structures, often covered with reflective metal. His most famous work, and the clearest expression of his style, is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, which is covered in titanium.

Related Topics:
CC - February 28 - 1929 - Architect - Guggenheim Museum - Bilbao - Spain - Titanium

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Born in Toronto, Canada to a Jewish family, Gehry moved at age 17 to California, where he studied at Los Angeles City College before graduating from the University of Southern California School of Architecture. He then studied city planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is today a naturalized American citizen and lives in Los Angeles.

Related Topics:
Toronto - Canada - Jewish - California - Los Angeles City College - University of Southern California - Harvard Graduate School of Design - American - Citizen - Los Angeles

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gehry's style is derived from late modernism. The tortured, warped forms of his structures are considered expressions of the deconstructivist (DeCon) school of modernist architecture. The DeCon movement departs from modernism in its de-emphasis of societal goals and functional necessity. Unlike early modernist structures, DeCon structures are not required to reflect specific social ideas (such as speed or universality of form), and they do not reflect a belief that form follows function. DeCon, which Gehry has continued to refine, is also known as the Santa Monica school of architecture. This region of the United States has produced the greatest range of experimentation in the field of DeCon design and contains the largest concentration of the structures.

Related Topics:
Late modernism - Deconstructivist - Modernist architecture - Early modernist - Santa Monica school of architecture

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gehry is considered a modern architectural icon and celebrity. He has appeared in Apple's black and white "Think Different" pictorial ad campaign that associates offbeat but revered figures with Apple's design philosophy. He even once appeared as himself in an episode of "The Simpsons". His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions. Many museums, firms, and cities seek Gehry's services as a badge of distinction, regardless of the product he delivers.

Related Topics:
Apple - Think Different - The Simpsons

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Seattle's EMP Music Museum represents this phenomenon at its most extreme. Microsoft's Paul Allen chose Gehry as the architect of the urban structure to house his public collection of music history artifacts. While the result was undeniably unique, critical reaction came in the form of withering attacks. The bizarre color choices, the total disregard for architectural harmony with the built and natural surroundings, and the mammoth scale led to accusations that Gehry had simply "got it wrong." Admirers of the building remind critics that similar attacks were levelled against the Eiffel Tower in the late 19th century, and that only historical perspective would allow a fair evaluation of the building's merits.

Related Topics:
Seattle's - EMP Music Museum - Microsoft - Paul Allen - Eiffel Tower

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Recently, Gehry has been criticised by some to be repeating himself, critics claiming the disjointed metal panoply that has become Gehry's trademark is perhaps overused. Almost all of his recent work seems derivative of his landmark Bilbao Guggenheim. (It should be noted, however, that while the Guggenheim was completed before Disney Hall, the latter was designed first.) His critics and admirers alike are watching with anticipation to see whether Gehry is able to produce equally compelling forms in a different idiom.

Related Topics:
Bilbao Guggenheim - Disney Hall

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~