Yesterday, sad news was circulated around the world. After a brief respiratory illness, Frank Gehry passed away at the age of 96. His death closed one of the most significant chapters in the history of architecture in recent decades. We recall the silhouette of the great visionary who had a huge impact on contemporary thinking about buildings and cities.
Frank Gehry’s Polish roots
The architect was born on 28 February 1929 in Toronto as Frank Owen Goldberg. He had Jewish roots and part of his family came from Poland. His mother was born in Łódź, while his grandparents are buried in the Jewish cemetery there. In 1947, Gehry moved to California with his relatives. After a few years, he completed a degree in architecture at the University of Southern California and then went on to study urban planning at Harvard. During this period, he dropped the name Goldberg and became Frank Gehry.
Gehry Partners and his first steps in the profession
After his studies, he gained experience in the studios of Victor Gruen and Pereira & Luckman. A short stay in Paris allowed him to learn about European approaches to design. In 1962, the man opened his own office in Los Angeles. In time, his studio, known as Gehry Partners, became one of the most important design teams in the world. The architect lived most of his life in Santa Monica, where his famous house, often pointed to as a precursor to Gehry’s later formal experiments, was also built. In addition to buildings, the man also designed furniture and everyday objects, among other things.
Frank Gehry – creative direction
Gehry consistently challenged the principles of modernism prevalent in the second half of the 20th century. He strove for a freer way of shaping solids and forming materials. His designs show undulating surfaces, unexpected folds and juxtapositions of elements with different textures. He used titanium, concrete, stone, plywood or steel mesh. The designs had a strong visual expression, which often provoked extreme opinions about his works. Gehry was counted among the most important representatives of deconstructivism.
Gehry’s most important realisations
Frank Gehry’s oeuvre includes realisations that have become a permanent part of world architectural history. Highlights include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Dancing House in Prague, the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein and the headquarters of the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. His projects also include the Chiat/Day Building in Los Angeles, the Neuer Zollhof complex in Düsseldorf, the Experience Music Project in Seattle, the Gehry Tower in Hanover and New York’s 8 Spruce Street skyscraper. The opening of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao initiated a process that changed the perception of the city internationally. This phenomenon was later referred to as the ‘Bilbao Effect’.
Interesting fact: Frank Gehry and Warsaw
Gehry also participated in the Polish architectural debate, more specifically in the context of the construction of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. Anda Rottenberg recalled years later that in the initial phase of talks about the new MSN headquarters, the idea of attracting Gehry’s interest in the collaboration came up. However, the concept was more an attempt to open up an international discussion than a viable plan. In the end, the project was entrusted to another team, but this episode remained an interesting anecdote related to Gehry’s work and Poland – the country of his ancestors.
Reception of the work and controversy
Frank Gehry’s designs were admired for their energy of form, but they were also criticised by some in the architectural community. He was accused of simplified functional solutions and of basing his designs on a similar set of formal gestures. Difficulties in maintaining some of the buildings, resulting from the use of complex shapes and materials, were pointed out, leading to high running costs. Critics also pointed out that the expressive form was able to dominate the utility programme and imposed restrictions on the institutions using these spaces. Gehry, however, remained true to his own working methods, relying on intuition, mock-ups and modelling of the space.
Gehry’s awards and accolades
Frank Gehry has been honoured with numerous awards, including the Pritzker Prize in 1989, the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has received numerous awards from artistic and academic institutions around the world. His work was regularly exhibited in major museums and art centres, confirming the importance of Gehry’s work in the contemporary design debate. He was regarded by many professional circles as an artist who encouraged architects to take a bolder approach to form and material.
Frank Gehry and his legacy
Gehry’s oeuvre set out new possibilities in architecture and expanded the scope of formal exploration in design. His work changed the way we look at the role of the building in the urban space. The Canadian with Polish roots left behind an extensive catalogue of realisations that inspire successive generations of artists. Frank Gehry’s death closed an era, but his influence on global design will remain alive for centuries.
Source: nytimes.com, euronews.com
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