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When the other products o a culture have

aded rom human memory, it is the works o

architecture that remain to dene an era or

successive generations. As the 20th century gave

way to the 21st, it was hard to dispute that the

denitive architect o the age was Frank Gehry,

Canadian by birth, a resident o Los Angeles

by choice.

He rst drew notice in his adopted city

with works deploying commonplace industrial

materials in unexpected ways, but he came tointernational prominence with works which

exploded the geometry o traditional archi-

tecture to create a dramatic new orm o ex-

pression. He deployed cutting-edge computer

technology to realize shapes and orms o hith-

erto unimaginable complexity, such as the star-

tling irregularities o his Guggenheim Museum

in Bilbao, Spain, or the Walt Disney Concert

Hall in Los Angeles. In these monumental

buildings, the uninhibited whimsy o his pencil

sketches took shape in powerul structures o

gleaming titanium.

From Switzerland to Japan, rom Santa

Monica to Prague, his buildings have trans-

ormed human expectations o the designedspace. Once mocked or their astonishing origi-

nality, his buildings have become the signature

structures o the challenging times we live in.

Contents

Building

Originality

GehryResidence

Vitra DesignMuseum

GuggenheimMuseum

Walt DisneyConcert Hall

Marqus deRiscal Hotel

New Yorkby Gehry

Inspiring theFuture

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originality at its

Hotel Marques de

Riscal in the Rioja wine

region of Elciego, Spain


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finest

Above: Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain

Health in Las Vegas.

Left: The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, along the

Nervin River in downtown Bilbao, Spain.

Right: The Dancing House in Prague,

Czech Republic.

Much o Gehrys work alls within the style

o Deconstructivism, which is oten reerred

to as post-structuralist in nature or its ability

to go beyond current modalities o structuraldenition. In architecture, its application tends

to depart rom modernism in its inherent criti-

cism o culturally inherited givens such as soci-

etal goals and unctional necessity. Because o

this, unlike early modernist structures, Decon-

structivist structures are not required to reect

specic social or universal ideas, such as speedor universality o orm, and they do not reect

a belie that orm ollows unction.

Gehrys style at times seems unnished or

even crude, but his work is consistent with the

Caliornia unk art movement in the 1960s

and early 1970s, which eatured the use o in-expensive ound objects and non-traditional

media such as clay to make serious art. Gehry

has been called the apostle o chain-link enc-

ing and corrugated metal siding. However, a

retrospective exhibit at New Yorks Whitney

Museum in 1988 revealed that he is also a

sophisticated classical artist, who knows Euro-pean art history and contemporary sculpture

and painting.


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gehry residenCe


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1977

Quite plainly, the Gehry Residence is a

suburban house totally unconcerned with tra-

ditionally pleasing aesthetics. As soon as it wascompleted in 1978 reactions ranged rom hagi-

ography to anathema. Over time, critical reac-

tions mirrored the role the house would play in

the larger canon o contemporary architecture.

A 1979 review by New York imes architecture

critic Paul Goldberger, Hon. AIA, recognized

the house as an extremely successul provoca-tioni not much more.

He called the Gehry Residence the most

signicant new house in Southern Caliornia

in years, admiring its central conceptual con-

ceit: an old house wrapped in jagged panels

o corrugated metal, creating a new band o

patio-like indoor/outdoor space on three sides.Windows were inated into small skylight

atriums, canted and distorted into sculptural

expressions o transparent mass. A thoroughly

collaged composition, plywood and (most ina-

mously) chain-link ence punctuate the houses

rough-hewn exterior. Inside the added indoor/

outdoor space, the oor was asphalt, and the

now-interior wall was still the original painted

(salmon-pink) siding.

Troughout the interior, Goldberger ap-

preciated the abundance o natural light and

the exposed wood beams Gehry revealed ater

he gutted the original house, which commu-

nicate a sense o structural honesty not oten

associated with his work.


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Vitra designMUseUM

1989


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Te Museum opened on November 3,

1989, and pictures o Frank O. Gehrys uncon-

ventional building - his rst work in Europe -circled the globe.

oday, the Vitra Design Museum is inter-

nationally active as a cultural institution that

has made a major contribution to the research

and popular dissemination o design. Te Mu-

seum presents a broad spectrum o topics on

design and culture, with a special emphasis on

urniture and interior design. Its activities en-

compass the production o exhibitions, work-

shops, publications, and museum products,

and the maintenance o an extensive collection,

an archive, and a research library. Te travelling

exhibitions o the Vitra Design Museum areshown at renowned partner institutions around

the world.

With regard to its independence and range

o topics, the Vitra Design Museum is com-

parable to a public museum. From a nancial

standpoint, however, it is largely sel-sucient.

Its partnership with the Vitra corporation con-

sists o a basic annual supplement to the Mu-

seum budget, the use o Vitra architecture, and

organisational co-operation.


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Well beore the Guggenheim Museum

Bilbao opened its doors to the public on Oc-

tober 19, 1997, the new museum was making

news. Te numerous artists, architects, jour-

nalists, politicians, lmmakers, and historians

that visited the building site in the mere our

years o its construction anticipated the suc-

cess o the venture. Frank Gehrys limestone,

glass, and titanium building was hailed by ar-

chitect Philip Johnson as the greatest building

o our time and the pioneering collaborationbetween the Solomon R. Guggenheim Founda-

tion and Basque authorities was seen to chal-

lenge assumptions about art museum collecting

and programming.

Located on the Bay o Biscay, Bilbao is the

ourth largest city in Spain, one o the countrys

most important ports, and a center or manu-acturing, shipping, and commerce. In the late

1980s the Basque authorities embarked on an

gUggenheiM


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ambitious redevelopment program or the city.

By 1991, with new designs or an airport, a

subway system, and a ootbridge, among other

important projects by major international ar-

chitects such as Norman Foster, Santiago Ca-

latrava, and Arata Isozaki, the city planned to

build a rst-class cultural acility. In April and

May o 1991 at the invitation o the Basque

Government and the Diputacin Foral de Bi-

zkaia, Tomas Krens, Director o the Solomon

R. Guggenheim Foundation, met repeatedlywith ocials, signing a preliminary agreement

to bring a new Guggenheim Museum to Bilbao.

An architectural competition led to the

selection o Caliornia-based architect Gehry,

known or his use o unorthodox materials

and inventive orms, and his sensitivity to the

urban environment. Gehrys proposal or thesite on the Nervion River ultimately included

eatures that embrace both the identity o the

Guggenheim Museum and its new home in the

Basque Country. Te buildings glass atrium

reers to the amous rotunda o Frank Lloyd

Wrights New York Guggenheim, and its larg-

est gallery is traversed by Bilbaos Puente de La

Salve, a vehicular bridge serving as one o the

main gateways to the city. In 1992 Juan Ignacio

Vidarte, now Director General o the Guggen-

heim Bilbao, was ormally appointed to oversee

the development o the project and to supervise

the construction. Groundbreaking took placein 1993 and in 1997 a gala dinner and recep-

tion, attended by an international audience and

Spains Queen Soa and King Juan Carlos I,

celebrated the inauguration o the Guggenheim

Museum Bilbao.

MUseUM bilbao

1997


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Walt disneyConCert hall


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2003

Walt Disney Concert Hall, home o the

Los Angeles Philharmonic, was designed to

be one o the most acoustically sophisticatedconcert halls in the world, providing both

visual and aural intimacy or an unparalleled

musical experience.

Trough the vision and generosity o Lil-

lian Disney, the Disney amily, and many other

individual and corporate donors, the city enjoys

one o the nest concert halls in the world, as

well as an internationally recognized architec-

tural landmark.From the stainless steel curves o its strik-

ing exterior to the state-o-the-art acoustics o

the hardwood-paneled main auditorium, the

3.6-acre complex embodies the unique energy

and creative spirit o the city o Los Angeles and

its orchestra.


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MarqUs de risCa

2006


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Beore Frank Gehrys titanium-coied bou-

tique hotel arrived in the village o Elciego,

at the heart o Spains wine-growing La Riojaregion, the town already had a landmark: the

majestic 16th-century church, presiding over

a picturesque valley. But while the churchs

paired towers shine as local highlights, Gehrys

building is more o an international beacon,

commissioned by the local Marqus de Riscal

Winery to promote the growing international

interest in Spanish wine.

Set beside a stream at the edge o town,

Marqus de Riscal is one o the regions oldest

and largest wineries, with buildings dating to

1853. According to Edwin Chan, Gehrys de-

sign partner on the project, the client was ini-

tially interested in a chateau or the 21st cen-

tury, a kind o bed-and-breakast or VIPs, as

part o an overall modernization o its acilities.

Te project eventually grew to 27,000 square

eet to include 43 guest rooms (14 junior suites

in the main building and 29 rooms or suites

in an annex, all managed by an international

luxury chain), a wine-therapy spa, and a restau-

rant run by a local Michelin-starred che.Te hotels site within the winerys com-

pound was challenging. Set behind the historic

stone actories and backed by a steep hill, the

new building does not nestle into the vineyards;

instead, it stands over a paved plaza that covers

a new bottle cave (accessible by direct elevatorsrom the hotel). Gehrys structure rises on three

stone piers to capture views and assert its sculp-

tural presence.

Views o the town and valley successively

unold as you ascend rom the glazed lobby,

with its wine bar and terrace, to the 14 junior

suites on the next oor, the restaurant with its

ample terraces above it, and the guest lounge

with more terraces at the top. Seemingly ca-

sual stacks o rectangular volumes, clad in pale

sandstone like the masonry o the church and

village, house the interior spaces. Floor-to-

ceiling wood-ramed windows, many jutting

rom the corners o the volumes, peek out amid

owing rolls o mirror-nish stainless steel and

pale gold-and-pink-colored titanium (hues

inspired, the architects say, by the gold-mesh

wrapper, silver cap, and purple contents o the

companys bottles, and produced by passing ti-

tanium through an electric current in an acid

bath). Exposed steel structures support these

metal sheets, orming a capricious shading lay-era cascading succession o canopiesover

the stone.

l Vineyard hotel


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At 870 eet tall, New York by Gehry is the

tallest residential tower in the Western Hemi-

sphere and a singular addition to the iconic

Manhattan skyline. For his rst residentialcommission in New York City, master archi-

tect Frank Gehry has reinterpreted the design

language o the classic Manhattan high-rise

with undulating waves o stainless steel that

reect the changing light, transorming the ap-

pearance o the building throughout the day.

Gehrys distinctive aesthetic is carried across

the interior residential and amenity spaces with

custom urnishings and installations.

Gehrys innovative tower design has re-

sulted in over 200 unique oor plans that bring

the drama o the dynamic exterior wall move-

ment into residents private spaces. Where theaade undulates, the residential windows also

move into the apex o the olds, creating ree-

orm bay windows that are tted with seating

or let open to accommodate dining or reading

niches. All interior nishes and xtures have

been selected by Gehry, including cabinetry

crated in his signature honey-colored vertical

grain Douglas Fir.

neW yorkby gehry


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In addition, Gehry designed the sculptural

residential entry door handles and hardware,

which are inspired by organic orms and move-

ment. All residences are nished with whiteoak ooring, tted with solar shades that pro-

vide privacy while preserving views, and ofer

individual washer/dryer units. Building-wide

eatures include water ltration, individually

controlled vertical heating and cooling units,

and large picture windows throughout to

maximize views.

2011


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Edgartistas Illustration offamous Frank Gehry Buildings


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inspiring thefUtUre

Across years o architecture design, Frank

Gehry has become one o the most well

renown and respected men in the business. As

he continues to take on projects and designswell into his 80s, Gehry makes an even larger

mark on the landscapes around the world today.

Ater completing breath taking projects on all

ends o the globe, many young architects look

up to Gehry, while there still remains critics o

his work as there would with any proession.

Overall, the nations that have been blessed with

structures by his design, will orever keep him

in their memories and inspiration or years.

Opus, Hong Kong

IAC, New York

New World Center, Miami


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Credits10.aeccae.comdesign-museum.de

guggenheim.org

laphil.com

archrecord.construction.com

newyorkbygehry.com

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