ARCHITECTURAL REPORT ON FRANK O GEHRY

INTRODUCTION
“Frank Owen Goldberg” was the real name of the renowned architect. He was born on February 28,
1929 (age 81) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He partly spent his Sunday mornings at his Grandfather's
Hardware Store where in he would spend time drawing with his Father and his Mother which introduced
him to the world of Art. He studied at Los Angeles City College and eventually graduated from the
University of Southern California’s School of Architecture. Later, He studied City Planning at Harvard
Graduate School of Design.

His work had earned him several of the most significant awards in the Architectural field including
Pritzker Architectural Prize which was given at Tōdai-ji Buddhist Temple in 1989. He won several
renowned awards such as

 AIA Gold Medal,

 National Medal of Arts
 Order of Canada

Architectural style
Much of Gehry's work falls within the style of Deconstructivism or also known as “DeCon Architecture”

“Deconstructivism, it is characterized by ideas of fragmentation, an interest in manipulating ideas of a

structure's surface or skin, non-rectilinear shapes which serve to distort and dislocate some of the
elements of architecture, such as structure and envelope”.

“It constricts 'rules' of modernism such as "form follows function," "purity of form," and "truth to
materials”.

In spite of changes Gehry's design over the years, his approach to a building as a sculpture retains.
Gehry has undergone a marked evolution from the plywood and corrugated metal vernacular of his
early works to the distorted but pristine concrete of his work. His selection of materials such as
corrugated metal lends some of Gehry's designs an unfinished or even crude aesthetic. This consistent
aesthetic has made Gehry one of the most distinctive and easily recognizable designers of the recent
past. Critics of Gehry’s work have charged, however, that his designs are not thoughtful of contextual
concerns and frequently do not make the best use of valuable urban space.

Design Philosophy
The Famous statement of AR. FRANK O GERHRY explains his design philosophy very conveniently and
easily i.e. “Every Building is by its very nature a sculpture. You can’t help it. Sculpture is a 3-dimensional
object and so is a building”.

“He approaches each building as a sculptural object, a spatial container, a space with light and air, a
response to context and appropriateness of feeling and spirit to this container. This sculpture, the user
begins his baggage, his program, and interacts with it to accommodate his needs. He is known for his
professionalism and adherence to budgets, despite his complex and ambitious designs.

Celebrity Status
He is considered a modern architectural icon and celebrity, a major "Starchitect" (a neologism describing
the phenomenon of architects attaining a sort of celebrity status). The term usually refers to architects
known for dramatic, influential designs that often achieve fame and notoriety through their spectacular
effect. Other notable celebrity architects include Jean Nouvel, Zaha Hadid, Thom Mayne, Steven Holl,
Rem Koolhaas, and Norman Foster. He came to the attention of the public in 1972 with his "Easy Edges"
cardboard furniture. 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 The Simpsons in the episode "The Seven-Beer Snitch", where he parodied himself by
intimating that his ideas are derived by looking at a crumpled paper ball. He also voiced himself on the
TV show Arthur, where he helped Arthur and his friends design a new tree house. Steve Sample,
President of the University of Southern California, told Gehry that, "After George Lucas, you are our
most prominent graduate."

Overview on his Works

In recent years, Gehry has served as a professor of architecture at Columbia University, Yale and the
University of Southern California. He has also served as a board member at USC's School of Architecture,
his alma mater. Among his many official honors, Gehry was the 1989 recipient of the prestigious Pritzker
Prize “an annual award honoring a living architect "whose built work demonstrates combination of those
qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions
to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture."

As i attempt to detail the sentences used as someone coming from outside the field of architecture; the
minimalist reflective surfaces it attains on the glossy surfaces it uses, its projects that rest of Euclidean
foundations, the cubist approach it exhibits on the Platonic solids, the intentional hitches it leaves in
details, its compositions susceptible to multiple readings, its non-assimilated elements, its anarchist
stance in pursuit of freedom, its strong sculptural creativity, its approach to ordinary, valueless objects,
its interest in what is incomplete, its fish forms, its project-scale “Urban Junkyards” the mad, passionate
energy it displays from the start to the end of the project, “strange, absurd, surprising” shell forms and
similar sentences are what first come to mind about Gehry architecture. As I have partially tried to
explain above, it can be observed that in his pursuit of a new language, the architect may diverge from
conventional architectural practices and develop the relationship between the individual and the
traditional in favor of the former. On the other hand, although he forms a perception that pushes the
fundamentals of civil engineering throughout his works of architecture; it may be seen clearly that he
resolved the challenges brought about by such engineering in a natural manner. In addition to all these,
Gehry’s understanding of architecture, which has developed over the years, affords us the opportunity
to study the Gehry projects from an angle that may well remain outside an architectural approach.

From his earliest works, architect he has shattered conventions, designing buildings that some critics say
are more sculpture than architecture. Using unorthodox materials and space-age methods, he creates
unexpected, twisted forms. His work is radical, playful, organic, and sensual. Gehry learns from each
building he designs. His career is an evolution of design. "Disney Hall would not have been built if Bilbao
hadn't happened”.

A sense of what is beautiful is said to be in the eye of the beholder. Architect Frank Gehry experimented
with unexpected designs and played with the rawness of materials to create his own beauty and
harmony. In 1978, the Gehry House in Santa Monica became his laboratory for experimentation with
aesthetics.

The art world influenced him. Fragmentation of his architectural design suggests the work of the painter
Marcel Duchamp. Like an artist, Gehry experimented with juxtaposition he placed picket fences next to
chain link, walls within walls, and created boundaries with no boundary. Gehry was free to blur
traditional lines in unexpected ways. He sharpened what we see by contrast, like a character's foil in
literature. As the new house enveloped the old house, new and old blurred to become one house. His
experimental approach frustrated the public. They wondered which decisions were intentional and
which were building errors. Some critics called Gehry contrary, arrogant, and sloppy. Others called his
work ground-breaking. Frank Gehry seemed to find beauty not only in raw materials and exposed
design, but also in the mystery of intention.

Talking about material Gehry has always been experimenting with materials. Stucco? Stone? Brick?
What would you choose for exterior siding options? To remodel his own home in 1978 to limit costs by
using industrial materials, such as corrugated metal, raw plywood, and chain link fencing, which he used
as one, would enclose a tennis court, a playground, or a batting cage. Architecture was his sport, and
Gehry could play by his own rules with his own house and he excelled at it.

"No matter what you build, after you solve all the issues of function and
budget and so on, you bring to it your language, your signature of some
sort, and I think that's important. The most important thing is to be
yourself, because as soon as you try to be somebody else, you tend to
denigrate the work and it's not as powerful or as strong."

*Source: Conversations with Frank Gehry by Barbara Isenberg, 2009, pp. 65, 67, 151

Some people might believe that the Gehry designs looks like an explosion in a building, haphazard,
unplanned, and disorderly. Nevertheless, architect Frank Gehry sketches and models all his projects,
even when he remodeled his Santa Monica house in 1978. What may appear to be chaotic or simply
minimalist is really meticulously planned.

Architectural design is an iterative process, made faster with computer programs, but change comes
through experimentation not just one sketch and not just one model. The story of the Gehry House, the
architect's own residence, is the simple story of a remodeling job. It is also the story of experimentation
with design, solidification of an architect's vision, and, ultimately, the pathway to professional success
and personal satisfaction. The Gehry House would become one of the first examples of what became
known as deconstructivism, architecture of fragmentation and chaos.

For Frank Gehry, like most architects, the art of building is a serious and searching business. He pursues
his muse with love and frustration, with a sense of discovery in each undertaking, and an exceptional set
of skills. At a time when retro reigns, he follows the modernist route of an original vision that
postmodern traditionalists have tried so hard to give a bad name. He takes chances; he works close to
the edge; he pushes boundaries beyond previous limits. There are times when he misses the mark, and
times when the breakthrough achieved alters everyone else’s vision as well. And he believes, as most
architects do, that it is always the next project that will realize his aims and ideals his own. For those
that work this way exploring levels of philosophy and practice that renew both the spirit and meaning of
an ancient art there is a quiet, but genuine joy that is the architect’s secret elixir. Delight breaks through
constantly; there are no gloomy Gehry buildings.

An admirer of the quirky, the accidental and the absurd, tuned in to the transient nature of much
contemporary culture, while he is deeply involved, personally and professionally, with the world of
serious art and artists. There is a closet elitist, if elitism is equated with a fierce admiration for the great
works of art, architecture and urbanism. Above all, he is an obsessive perfectionist engaged in a
ceaseless and demanding investigation of ways to unite expressive form and utilitarian function. He
practices architecture in the most timeless and sophisticated sense, but with a very special spin. The
spin is that Gehry’s work goes to the heart of the art of our time, carrying the conceptual and
technological achievements of modernism.

Conclusion
"Building a building is like berthing the Queen Mary in a small slip at a dock. There are lots of wheels
and turbines and thousands of people involved, and the architect is the guy at the helm who has to
visualize everything going on and organize it all in his head. Architecture is anticipating, working with
and understanding all of the craftsmen, what they can do and what they can't do and making it all
come together. I think of the final product as a dream image, and it's always elusive. You can have a
sense of what the building should look like and you can try to capture it. But you never quite do."

I'm not comfortable using the word 'sculpture.' I've used it before, but I don't think it's really the right
word. It's a building. The words 'sculpture,' 'art,' and 'architecture' are loaded, and when we use
them, they have a lot of different meanings. So to conclude I truly believe Gehry is a truly inspiration
for me and other people pursuing architecture as their professional career, he has given us great
design and knowledge of how architecture can be or needs to be evolved by time and it can only done
through experimentation."
Bibliography
o http://www.biography.com/people/frank-gehry-9308278
o http://www.archdaily.com/tag/frank-gehry
o http://www.fastcodesign.com/3053937/9-things-you-didnt-know-aboutfrank-gehry/6
o http://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/best-of-frank-gehryslideshow
o https://www.archdaily.com/337756/happy-birthday-frank-gehry
o https://gizmodo.com/frank-gehry-is-still-the-worlds-worst-living-architect-1523113249
o Conversations with Frank Gehry by Barbara Isenberg
o Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry (Book by Paul Goldberger)