AR. FRANK OWEN GEHRY

1. "Every building is by its very nature a
sculpture. You can't help it. Sculpture
is a three-dimensional object and so
is a building.“
ASSIGNMENT NO. : 2
BY : (3-C)
• JYOTI AHLAWAT
•SAJIDA SHAHNUM
•SNIGDHA KHANEJA
•TSERING CHOEZOM

2. “I APPROACH 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. IF HE CAN’T DO THAT, I’VE
FAILED.”
•GEHRY WAS BORN FRANK OWEN GOLDBERG ON FEBRUARY 28,
1929, IN TORONTO, ONTARIO.
•HE WAS A TRUCK DRIVER IN L.A., GOING TO CITY COLLEGE, AND HE TRIED
RADIO ANNOUNCING, WHICH HE WASN'T VERY GOOD AT.
•DURING THAT TIME, HE BECAME A MEMBER OF ALPHA EPSILON PI.
•HE TRIED CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, WHICH HE WASN'T VERY GOOD AT AND
DIDN'T LIKE, THAN HE TRIED SOME ARCHITECTURE CLASSES.
•GEHRY GRADUATED AT THE TOP OF HIS CLASS WITH A BACHELOR OF
ARCHITECTURE DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE IN 1954.
• IN 1952 HE MARRIED ANITA SNYDER, AND IN 1956 HE CHANGED HIS NAME
TO FRANK O. GEHRY AT HER SUGGESTION.
•HE SPENT TIME AWAY FROM THE FIELD OF ARCHITECTURE IN NUMEROUS
•OTHER JOBS, INCLUDING SERVICE IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY.
•IN 2004, HE DESIGNED THE TROPHY FOR THE WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY.
HOCKEY WORLD CUP TROPHY
•HE WOULD SPEND TIME DRAWING WITH HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER
INTRODUCED HIM TO THE WORLD OF ART. "SO THE CREATIVE GENES WERE THERE“
•HE WAS ENCOURAGED BY HIS GRANDMOTHER, MRS. CAPLAN, WITH WHOM HE
WOULD BUILD LITTLE CITIES OUT OF SCRAPS OF WOOD FROM HER HUSBAND’S
HARDWARE STORE.
•DRAWN TO THE SOCIAL ISSUES, ARCHITECTURE IS THE PANACEA FOR CITIES
FUTURES
FRANK OWEN GEHRY

3. • ALTHOUGH FRANK GEHRY DOES NOT PERSONALLY ASSOCIATE WITH THE MOVEMENT, CRITICS PRIMARILY
CONSIDER HIS DESIGN PHILOSOPHY TO BE DECONSTRUCTIVISM, AN APPROACH CHARACTERIZED BY
FRAGMENTATION AND DISTORTIONS OF TRADITIONAL STRUCTURE, INFORMED BY HIS BELIEF THAT ALL
ARTISTS SHOULD BE TRUE TO THEMSELVES.
• PHILOSOPHICALLY, DECONSTRUCTIVISM COMES AS A CRITICAL RESPONSE TO MODERNISM, IN WHICH THE
FORM OF A BUILDING IS EXPECTED TO FOLLOW STRICTLY FROM ITS FUNCTION. USE OF ASYMMETRY,
EXAGGERATED PROPORTIONS AND UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS.
• MODERNIST BUILDINGS, EPITOMIZED BY RECTANGULAR STEEL AND GLASS, ELIMINATION OF
UNNECESSARY DETAIL AND ADHERENCE TO RIGID GEOMETRIC NORMS.
• MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE REFLECTS CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHIES REGARDING SOCIAL HARMONY
AND MACHINE-LIKE ORGANIZATION.
• DECONSTRUCTIVISM IS THUS CALLED AS IT ATTEMPTS TO DESTABILIZE MODERNIST THINKING BY
BREAKING UP DESIGN INTO HIGHLY STYLIZED, INDIVIDUAL PARTS.
• THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN BALBOA, SPAIN, GEHRY’S MOST ICONIC WORK, FEATURES AN EXTERIOR
OF TITANIUM, GLASS AND LIMESTONE THAT IS BOTH RECTANGULAR AND TRADITIONAL AND ALSO
DRAMATICALLY CURVED AND FOLDED.
GEHRY’S ARCHITECTURE HAS UNDERGONE
A MARKED EVOLUTION FROM THE
PLYWOOD AND CORRUGATED-METAL
VERNACULAR OF HIS EARLY WORKS TO THE
DISTORTED BUT PRISTINE CONCRETE OF HIS
LATER WORKS. HOWEVER, THE WORKS
RETAIN A DECONSTRUCTED AESTHETIC
THAT FITS WELL WITH THE INCREASINGLY
DISJOINTED CULTURE TO WHICH THEY
BELONG.

4. GEHRY'S WORK HAS ITS DETRACTORS. SOME HAVE SAID
• THE BUILDINGS WASTE STRUCTURAL RESOURCES BY CREATING
FUNCTIONLESS FORMS.
• THE BUILDINGS ARE APPARENTLY DESIGNED WITHOUT ACCOUNTING
FO THE LOCAL CLIMATE.
• THE SPECTACLE OF A BUILDING OFTEN OVERWHELMS ITS INTENDED
USE, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF MUSEUMS AND ARENAS.
• THE BUILDINGS DO NOT SEEM TO BELONG IN THEIR SURROUNDINGS.
• GEHRY WAS INTERESTED IN THE FORM OF A FISH, AND THE NOTION
OF BRINGING MOVEMENT INTO HIS ARCHITECTURE, IT WAS HIS WAY
OF EXPLORING THE TECHNIQUE OF DOUBLE CURVES
• AS A YOUNG BOY HE HAS MEMORIES OF GOING TO THE
MARKETPLACE WITH HIS GRANDPARENTS AND PURCHASING CARP Port Olympic, Barcelona Spain ,
1992
Walt Disney Concert Hall (Interior) -
Frank Gehry - 2003
• THE FRAME HOUSES BOTH REGULAR AND IRREGULAR GALLERY SHAPES WITHIN.
• THE BLEND OF CLASSIC AND DISTORTED FIGURES IN GEHRY'S WORK FRAGMENTS BUILDINGS
INTO ELEMENTS VISUALLY AT ODDS WITH ONE ANOTHER AND WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE
ENVIRONMENTS.
• GEHRY INTENDS THIS ELABORATE APPROACH TO DESIGN TO GREATLY IMPRINT HIS BUILDINGS IN
LOCAL CULTURE.
• GEHRY’S STYLE AT TIMES SEEMS UNFINISHED OR EVEN CRUDE, BUT HIS WORK IS CONSISTENT
WITH THE CALIFORNIA ‘FUNK’ ART MOVEMENT IN THE 1960S AND EARLY 1970S, WHICH
FEATURED THE USE OF INEXPENSIVE FOUND OBJECTS AND NON-TRADITIONAL MEDIA SUCH AS
CLAY TO MAKE SERIOUS ART.
• GEHRY HAS BEEN CALLED "THE APOSTLE OF CHAIN-LINK FENCING AND CORRUGATED METAL
SIDING”.
• HOWEVER, A RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBIT AT NEW YORK'S WHITNEY MUSEUM IN 1988 REVEALED
THAT HE IS ALSO A SOPHISTICATED CLASSICAL ARTIST, WHO KNOWS EUROPEAN ART HISTORY
AND CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE AND PAINTING

5. HOLLYWOOOD BOWL,
AMPHITHEATRE,LOS ANGLES
WEISMAN ART MEUSEUM
MINNEAPOLIS,USA
GEHRY RESIDENCE,
CALIFORNIA,USA
VITRA DESIGN MEUSEUM,
GERMANY
1993
1991
1989
1922

6. 2000
1999
1997
1996
DANCING HOUSE,
CRECZH REPUBLIC
GUGGENHEIM MEUSEUM,
SPAIN
WALT DISNEY CONCRETE HALL ,
LA,USA
GEHRY TOWER,
SPORT DEPARTMENT
BUILDING,HANOVER,GERMANY

7. 2007
2007
2004
2005
JAY PRITZKER PAVILLION,
CHICAGO
MARTE HERFORD,
ART MUSEUM,GERMANY
GUGGENHIEM ABU DHABI,
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
IAC BUILDING,
INTERACTIVECORP’
S
HEADQUATER,NEW
YORK

8. 2011
2011
2007 LOU RUVO CENTRE FOR BRAIN HEALTH,
CHICAGO
8 SPRUCE STREET,
NEWYORK
NEW WORLD CENTRE,
FLORIDA ,TORONTO

9. Dancing House in Prague(CZECH REPUBLIC) "Ginger and Fred”

10.  THE SITE OF GEHRY'S DANCING HOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY OCCUPIED BY A HOUSE INTHE NEO-
RENAISSANCE STYLE FROM THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY.
 THAT HOUSE WAS DESTROYED DURING BOMBING IN 1945, ITS REMAINS FINALLY REMOVED IN
1960.
 THE CONSTRUCTION STARTED` IN 1994 AND THE HOUSEWAS FINISHED IN 1996.
 THE BUILDING IS AN EXAMPLE OF DECONSTRUCTIVE ARCHITECTURE, WITH AN UNUSUAL
SHAPE.
 IT REFLECTS A WOMAN AND MAN (GINGER ROGERS AND FRED ASTAIR) DANCING TOGETHER.
 CONSTRUCTION IS FROM 99 CONCRETE PANELS EACH OF DIFFERENT SHAPE AND DIMENSION,
EACH THEREFORE REQUIRING A UNIQUE WOODEN FORM.
 IT REPRESENTS TWO DANCERS FRED ASTAIRE AND GINGER ROGERS – THAT´S WHY IT´S
ALSO CALLED “GINGER AND FRED”.
 THE GLASS TOWER GINGER BENDS AND CLINGS TO THE CONCRETE TOWER FRED,
WHICH HAS A METAL CUPOLA ON THE TOP, REPRESENTING HAIR. THE HOUSE IS AN
EXAMPLE OF A DECONSTRUCTIVE ARCHITECTURE.
PLAN
AREA OPEN TO PUBLICCUPOLA RESEMBLING HAIRS
RESTAURENT AREA
“Ginger and Fred”
Dancing on the riverside
 THE TOP FLOOR OF DANCING HOUSE IS THE ONLY PART OPEN TO THE
PUBLIC, AND IS HOME TO ONE OF THE CITY'S LEADING RESTAURANTS.
FOR THE REASON ALREADY GIVEN, IT IS CALLED THE GINGER & FRED
RESTAURANT.
 THE DANCING HOUSE HAS TWO CENTRAL BODIES
 THE FIRST IS A TOWER OF GLASS THAT IS CLOSE TO HALF HEIGHT AND IS
SUPPORTED BY CURVED PILLARS, THE SECOND RUNS PARALLEL TO THE
RIVER, WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE MOLDINGS THAT FOLLOW A
WAVY MOTION AND DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE WINDOWS SO THE
NON-ALIGNED.

11. the
GUGGENHIUM
MUSUEM
Frank
O GEHRY
GUGGENHIUM MUSUEM in BILBAO , SPAIN (1997)

12. GUGGENHIUM MUSUEM , SPAIN
FRANK GEHRY, 1997
 THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM BILBAO IS A MUSEUM OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY
ART AND LOCATED IN BILBAO, BASQUE COUNTRY, SPAIN. IT IS BUILT ALONGSIDE THE
NERVION RIVER IN OCTOBER 18, 1997, WHICH RUNS THROUGH THE CITY OF BILBAO TO
THE ATLANTIC COAST.
 THE MUSEUM IS CLAD IN GLASS, TITANIUM AND LIMESTONE.
 RANDOMNESS OF THE CURVES ARE DESIGNED TO CATCH THE LIGHT.
 LOOKS OF THE BUILDING ARE VERY CALM AND UNINTERACTIVE AS THERE
ARE NO WINDOWS BUT BLANK WALLS.
 BRILLIANTLY REFLECTIVE TITANIUM PANELS RESEMBLE FISH SCALES.
PLAN
RIVER WALK
VIEW FROM CAMPO VOLATIN
FOOT BRIDGE
ENTRANCE TO THE MUSUEM
PLANS OF GUGGENHIUM MUSUEM , SPAIN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
THIRD FLOOR PLAN

13. SITED AS IT IS IN A PORT TOWN, IT IS INTENDED TO
RESEMBLE A SHIP.
ATRIUM SURROUNDED BY EXHIBITION GALLERIES
• THE ATRIUM IS THE REAL HEART OF THE MUSEUM AND ONE
OF THE MOST IDIOSYNCRATIC FEATURES OF GEHRY´S
DESIGN.
• THE ATRIUM´S REMARKABLE HEIGHT (55 M) IS ONE AND
HALF TIMES THAT OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT´S GUGGENHEIM
MUSEUM IN NY.
• EXHIBITION SPACE IS DISTRIBUTED IN 19 GALLERIES.
• TEN HAVING REGULAR SHAPE WITH STONE FINISH , NINE OTHER
HAVE IRREGULAR SHAPE AND HAVE TITANIUM FINISH.
ATRIUM ART GALLERIES EXHIBITION HALL