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Frank O. Gehry (1929-2025)
Architect, Designer, Sculptor, Universal Artist (Deconstructivism - Deconstructivist Architecture)
Frank Gehry, born in 1929 in Toronto, Canada, is an architect who has redefined the contemporary architectural landscape with his innovative and unconventional approach. His professional career took off in the 1960s when he began experimenting with non-traditional materials and forms, moving away from the orthodox modernism that predominated at that time. Throughout his career, Gehry has been a pioneer in the use of new technologies, such as digital modeling through CATIA, a modern and innovative software, with which he can create complex and dynamic structures that challenge traditional architectural norms. This experimental approach has earned him numerous awards and recognitions, including the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 1989, considered the "Nobel" of Architecture.
Among Gehry's most emblematic works are the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, completed in 1997, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, inaugurated in 2003. The Guggenheim Bilbao, with its undulating forms and shiny metallic surfaces, has become a global icon and an example of how architecture can revitalize an entire city, a phenomenon known as the "Bilbao effect." The Disney Concert Hall, for its part, is a testament to his ability to merge acoustic functionality with a sculptural aesthetic. Both structures are not only visual wonders but have also demonstrated Gehry's capacity to create spaces that inspire and impact on a cultural and social level.
Walt Disney Concert Hall, 2003, Los Angeles, California, United States, Deconstructivism, by Frank Gehry.Frank Gehry's legacy goes beyond his individual buildings. He is widely recognized as one of the founders of deconstructivism, an architectural movement that challenges established norms, rejecting symmetry and predictability in favor of fragmented, chaotic, and seemingly disjointed forms. This style, which was initially seen as radical and controversial, has deeply influenced generations of architects seeking to explore new forms of expression and functionality in their designs. Gehry has demonstrated that architecture can be both art and science, a means to experiment and, at the same time, solve practical problems.
The Dancing House, (1993-1996), Prague, Czech Republic. Gehry Partners LLPGehry's deconstructivist style is characterized by his use of irregular lines, distorted forms, and industrial materials such as metal and glass, occasionally even titanium, whenever the budget allows. He employs these elements to create a sense of movement and fluidity in his buildings. Instead of following a linear and predictable approach, Gehry adopts a more sculptural approach, seeing his structures as works of art in themselves: "A building, once finished, must be a work of art, as if it were a sculpture." This style can be seen in projects like the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris and The Dancing House in Prague, both examples of the power of architecture to challenge our perceptions of space and form.
The impact of Frank Gehry on modern and contemporary architecture is undeniable. His designs, characterized by boldness and innovation, have changed the way we understand and experience built spaces. His ability to combine artistic aesthetics with practical functionality has left a legacy that continues to inspire architects and designers worldwide. Beyond his distinctive style, Gehry has shown that parametric and avant-garde architecture can be a catalyst for cultural and social change, creating spaces that are not only visually striking but also enrich the lives of those who experience them.
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FRANK GEHRY QUOTES:
« I am not a starchitect! I am just an architect. There will always be expensive architects who are technically and financially bad. But I built the Guggenheim Bilbao at a cost of $300 per square foot. I budgeted $100 million, and I finished it for 97. Twelve years later, it's still there, and maintenance is not difficult. At Disney Hall (the Los Angeles concert hall), we spent $215 million, and the initial budget was 207. And it doesn't fall down either. And people like it. Five years later, it’s still working. Many people identify Bilbao and Los Angeles with those buildings. »
« Before any project, I study all the possibilities that occur to me after analyzing in detail a wide range of elements, starting with the client's wishes and ending with the details, through formal definition and budget control. For two months, I turn all that over in my head. Then, one day, I sit at the table and all that information becomes a drawing, which flows automatically from the brain to the paper, through the hand and the pencil. That is how my architecture is born. »
« Cities must have icons. Libraries, hospitals, museums. In 100 years, people will see them and say: "What is that?". And they will think: it is art. »
« I have a great time throughout the entire project process. I am more interested in the building when I think about it, draw it, or build it than when I have it finished. My job is fantastic: I am surrounded by great professionals with whom I can research everything from new technological solutions to new formal languages. All that keeps me awake and excited. Architecture has brought me many satisfactions. Also some frustrations. But that doesn't matter. I am happy with what I have. I am not one of those who want to hoard everything. »
« Times change, the places where you build change, clients change, and the most logical thing is that new buildings are different from previous ones. There are many reasons not to repeat oneself. So innovation seems natural to me. »
« It’s not hard to build a skyscraper. »
« Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness. »
« I think communities crave an identity. Buildings have an identity in history. The Parthenon effect has lasted in Athens for centuries. Saint Peter's in Rome has lasted for centuries. People identify with buildings and return to them. »
« My heroes are the creators who broke through. Brancusi, Stravinsky. Innovating, breaking, that has value. People still go to Greece to see what Phidias did. Or to Ronchamp to see what Le Corbusier did there. People go to Bilbao. The world likes these works. It feels a need for them. Especially if, besides being beautiful, they work well. »
« I believe my buildings work correctly. Perhaps there are a few that could have come out better. But the vast majority work well. And let's not lose sight of one thing: 95% of the buildings built out there are absolute junk; they lack the slightest interest. So, from this perspective, it doesn't make much sense to pick on me. Nor do I think it is particularly inappropriate to do what I have done. A result like that of the Guggenheim in Bilbao proves that it is worth taking risks. I am convinced that it is worth taking risks. Or not? You have to be true to yourself and respond to the demands made of you. If you are honest, you must be true to yourself and, at the same time, you must know how to handle the constraints presented by every work. If you forget who you are, you run the risk of making the same junk as that 95% I referred to. »
« For me, all commissions are important. Sometimes projects come to fruition, and sometimes they remain just that, a project. I don't go around asking please to let me build here or there. I don't have a marketing team looking for work for me. Sometimes people come to see me and commission something; I have that luck. And then I try to correspond by working the best I know how. »
« I built the Guggenheim in Bilbao and, despite it being a worldwide success, I wasn't commissioned for other museums until the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, now under construction. I built the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, which is unanimously considered one of the halls with the best acoustics in the world, and a long time passed before I was called for a similar project. »
« When I started, I had no presumption of getting where I have gotten. I never thought it or could imagine it. That said, I will add that I don't really know where I am either. Some like what I do. Others don't. But the years do not weigh on me. I can work faster than before. And I still suffer from insecurities, which I find very healthy and encourage me to progress, to diversify my work. »
« I get the feeling that many do not understand my work; that many believe my buildings are excessively expensive. And it is not like that. I don't usually go over budget. I am very strict about that. Works like the one in Bilbao or the Disney Hall came out for figures slightly below the agreed budget. The price per square meter of the New York skyscraper is similar to that of a conventional tower. I am a responsible guy; that is a priority for me and a source of pride. Those who know me know it. »
« It takes a long time to build a building. When it's finally finished, I don't like it anymore. I see what I could have done, what I should have done. What prevails, what makes you forget the rest, is the way light bounces off the material. The reflections add a dimension that is not in the models or plans. It comes to life; it becomes a living being. »
« I try to carry out my clients' fantasies, creating an architectural form specifically intended for them. »
« When I was young, nobody gave a damn about architecture and now, thanks to the star system, architectural sensitivity has been democratized; almost everyone knows how to appreciate it. The star system is marketing; it’s not something we architects look for. »
« I take risks, but not to provoke; what I want is to solve the specific problem of specific people in a specific place. That is, to satisfy my client. »
« I am interested in my buildings having an emotional dimension, in them touching people's souls. The goal of architecture is to create spaces that become a catalyst for experiences and feelings. »
« What I have tried to do throughout my career is to create places that are not only a functional and aesthetic response but have something more: that they generate an emotion. »
« There is a great risk in architecture. And if you don't take risks, you can't move forward. You have to step out of your comfort zone, try to do new things; otherwise, you don't do anything interesting. »
« If I had to say what the most important contribution I have made to the practice of architecture is, I would say it is achieving coordination between the hand and the eye. All this means that I have ended up becoming very skillful in carrying out the construction of the image or form I am looking for. I believe this is my greatest skill as an architect. I am able to transform a sketch into a model and into a building. »
« With buildings, you can touch people. », Frank Gehry
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