Frank Gehry is one of the world's most influential architects. His designs for the likes of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA are bold statements that have imposed a new aesthetic of architecture on the world at large, enlivening streetscapes and creating new destinations. Gehry has extended his vision beyond brick-and-mortar too, collaborating with artists such as Claes Oldenberg and Richard Serra, and designing watches, teapots and a line of jewelry for Tiffany & Co.
Now in his 80s, Gehry refuses to slow down or compromise his fierce vision: He and his team at Gehry Partners are working on a $4 billion development of the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, and a spectacular Guggenheim museum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which interprets local architecture traditions into a language all his own. Incorporating local architectural motifs without simply paying lip service to Middle Eastern culture, the building bears all the hallmarks of a classic Gehry design.
“He has profoundly reordered the idea of constructed space among people who don't think about buildings for a living but who work in them, live in them -- and pay for them.” — Time
From the TED archives: Speaking at TED2 in 1990, the not-yet-legendary architect Frank Gehry takes a whistlestop tour of his work to date, from his Venice Beach house to the under-construction American Center in Paris. Over the course of this 45-minute slideshow (before TED’s 18-minute limit), Gehry explains the site-specific nature of his buildings — […]
Continue readingFrank Gehry wanted to be a scientist when he grew up. But after blowing up a part of his house, at age 14, he decided against it. He’s gone on to create some mindblowing buildings, including the Guggenheim at Bilbao and LA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. This wildly entertaining conversation with Richard Saul Wurman (then […]
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