FRANK O GEHRY

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURAL
THEORY AND PRACTICE

By
GREETY MARIA THOMAS C
RAJASUNDARI
Full Name Frank Owen
Goldberg
FRANK O GEHRY
Born February 28,1929
Toronto, Canada

Nationality Canadian,USA

Education University of Southern,

California

Awards AIA Gold Medal Order

of Canada Pritzker
Prize Premium
Imperiale
National Awards of arts
Practice Gehry Partners LLP

Deconstructivism Non Derridean architect

STYLE
Derridean USA Post structuralism
philosophy of
Deconstructivism
His work cited as being among the most
important works of contemporary
architecture in 2010, which led Vanity
Fair to label him as “the most
important architect of our age”
*Vanity Fair –monthly magazine of US
 DECONSTRUCTIVISM
It is an architectural movement or style influenced by deconstruction that
encourages radical freedom of form and the open manifestation of
complexity in a building rather than strict attention to functional concerns
and conventional design elements (as right angles or grids).

Those weird-looking, distorted, almost impossible-to-comprehend buildings that make you wonder how
anyone could design, let alone build such a construct, are actually part of a very specific, non-rectilinear
approach to design, called – Deconstructivism.
 HIS INSPIRATION
•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 ALTHOUGH FRANK GEHRY DOES NOT

“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.”
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.
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
Gehry's work reflects a spirit of experimentation coupled with a respect for the

demands of professional practice and has remained largely unaligned with

broader stylistic tendencies or movements. With his earliest educational
influences rooted in modernism, Gehry's work has sought to escape modernist stylistic
tropes while still remaining interested in some of its underlying transformative
agendas. Continually working between given circumstances and unanticipated
materializations, he has been assessed as someone who "made us produce buildings
that are fun, sculpturally exciting, good experiences" although his approach may
become "less relevant as pressure mounts to do more with less".
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. His works always have at least some element of deconstructivism. 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.
ART & ARCHITECTURE
Gehry sees architecture as an art. He manipulates the constraints of the
project, then expresses his creation. For Gehry, expression is essential in
architecture; buildings cannot be faceless, like in modernism. Thus, he
approaches each building as a sculptural object, each piece of architecture as
a painting.
Gehry's inspirations come from art and his role models are artists. Gehry
designs by pushing the limits of undecidability, like cubist artists. There is no
ugly or pretty, no right or wrong in this process. Gehry's architecture has
no real rules; it's open-ended and experiential architecture, like
art.
DESIGN PROCESS
Gehry has a highly exploratory
and experimental design
process. He creates his
buildings through slow,
meticulous design studies.
When Gehry starts a project,
he works to understand the
problem from inside out. An
example of this is how closely
he worked with maestro Esa-
Pekka Salonen, in the creation
of the Disney Concert Hall,
California.
Gehry's architectural process
begins with sketching. He
draws spontaneous,
bold sketches until he finds
his sculptural forms.
Eventually, sketches evolve
into a series of models.
 PEOPLE & EMOTIONS
For Gehry, a big problem of modernism is the
loss of a sense of humanity. He believes
that people are the most important thing in
architecture. Thus, Gehry makes expressive
buildings to humanize architecture, enrich the
human experience, and create places that
people like to be in. Gehry wants to inspire and
move people with his designs.
Engaging people's feelings is essential which
means finding ways to express feelings and
emotions in architecture. Gehry uses the
humanizing qualities of decoration, but not in a
historic way, like in postmodernism. Gehry frees
his architecture from the burdens of history.
Because, he believes the language of
architecture should speak of its time and place.
Gehry's buildings are shocking. They give
people a gut reaction mixed with a mysterious
feeling of delight, or maybe a feeling of unease,
tension, and confusion.
RESPONSE TO CHAOS
Gehry believes that these 'imperfections'
of the modern world should be reflected
in architecture, as it does in the arts.
For Gehry, buildings should respond
to time and our constantly changing
world. Architecture should address
chaos, express the pleasures of unease,
and stimulate unpredictability. To
Gehry, chaotic buildings are more
poetic; people can do their own
readings of them.
Gehry uses movement as a part of his
language. He believes that movement is
pervasive in our time and culture, like
chaos. Gehry relates to the fast society,
the fast world we live in; thus, he
expresses emotion through a sense of
movement. In creating movement,
Gehry has no rules because the world
has no real rules.
PERSONAL LANGUAGE
Gehry views what's around us as modernist, box-like buildings. He calls into question
this dry, cold, and unfriendly architecture, and pursues a new language. Gehry breaks
down the boxes into pieces, reassembles them in new forms, and challenges the sense
of order. Generally, this is associated with deconstructivism.
Deconstructivist architecture stems from the philosophical writings of Jacques Derrida.
Gehry, however, refuses to read these writings and rejects to be named a
deconstructivist architect. Gehry approaches architecture through a personal
articulation of ideas. This personal language reflects Gehry's design philosophy related
to art, humanity, and time.
• 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.
Most recently, Gehry has combined sensuous curving forms with
DESIGN STYLE
complex deconstructive massing, achieving significant new results.
• In spite of changes in Gehry’s design over the years, his approach to
a building as a sculpture retains.

• 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.
DESIGN THEME • Gehry intends this elaborate approach to design to greatly
imprint his buildings in local culture.
AND • Gehry’s style at times seems unfinished or even crude, but his
work is consistent with the California ‘funk’ art movement in
PHILOSOPHY 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
• 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.
BILBAO EFFECT
The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain
After the phenomenal success of Gehry's design for the Guggenheim
Museum in Bilbao, Spain, critics began referring to the economic and cultural
revitalization of cities through iconic, innovative architecture as the "Bilbao effect". In
the first 12 months after the museum was opened, an estimated US$160 million were
added to the Basque economy.
In subsequent years there have been many attempts to replicate this effect through
large-scale eye-catching architectural commissions that have been both successful
and unsuccessful, such as Daniel Libeskind's expansion of the Denver Art Museum.
His understanding of light, sound, movement, materials and the psychology of
human behavior sets him apart from the rest in architecture and design community.
The secret behind Gehry's success lies in the three principles he abides by.

1. Purpose Before Presentation

Gehry works from the inside outwards, looking at the purpose of the structure before it's
presentation. He might think about how sound will travel through the building or how
artwork will interact with visitors to the museum.
This brings home a strong lesson—keep in mind how users will use your product
throughout the whole design and development process. Gehry was worried about the
purpose and the meaning of the building for the people who would enter and use it. Our
job as designers is to worry about the purpose/meaning our web apps provide for
people using them. What is the purpose and how can we convey in through our designs.
2. Explore and Iterate

Gehry is the master of "failing your way to

success."' There is a great quote where he
describes the process of finding the right
material for the visual skin of the
Guggenheim Museum:
They made mockups of stainless steel and in
the bad light which went dead.
Gehry spent next two years in a steel mill
trying to perfect this golden titanium glow:

Exploration is all about approaching your

current design from a different angle. Gehry
had a vision for the feeling he hoped to
evoke and then iterated again and again to
make his material work. When it didn't, he
wasn't afraid to open up the question and
explore another material in its place, but it
was in an effort to achieve that same
emotional effect. The lesson here is to stay
focused on a goal, but know when to explore
alternates or riff on that same detail.
3. Shape and Movement

Gehry breaks down shape and movement into the following points:
•The design presentation that gives the sense of movement with his use of organic
forms.
•The movement of people in, out, and through the building.
•The potential energy of the community or individual with which his creations interact.
Every tiny detail matters when building a website. Every tiny detail—the wording, the
button color, the imagery all present a certain attitude that either attracts people or
pushes them away from the interface. Kevin Hale, the founder of Wufoo, looks at those
small moments as a first date with people who come to their website. There are a lot of
other places which can make great impressions.
CRITICISM
Though much of Gehry's work has been well-received, reception of Gehry's work is not always
positive.
Art historian Hal Foster reads Gehry's architecture as, primarily, in the service of corporate
branding. Criticism of his work includes complaints over design flaws that the buildings waste
structural resources by creating functionless forms, do not seem to belong in their surroundings
or enhance the public context of their locations, and are apparently designed without accounting
for the local climate.
Moreover, the socialist magazine Jacobin pointed out that Gehry's work can be summed up as
architecture for the super-wealthy, in the sense that it is expensive, not resourceful, and does not
serve the interests of the overwhelming majority. The article criticized Gehry's statement that, "In
the world we live in, 98 percent of what gets built and designed today is pure shit”.
 • The buildings waste structural resources by creating functionless forms.
• The buildings are apparently designed without accounting for the local
climate.
DESIGN • The spectacle of a building often overwhelms its intended use, especially in
the case of museums and arenas.
CRITICISM • 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.

 1977: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture,

American Academy of Arts and Letters
 1989: Pritzker Architecture Prize
 1992: Wolf Prize in Art, the Wolf Foundation
1992: Praemium Imperiale Award, Japan Art Association
AWARDS

 1998: National Medal of Arts
 1998: Friedrich Kiesler Prize
 1999: Gold Medal, American Institute of Architects
 2000: Lifetime Achievement Award, Americans for the Arts
 More than 100 awards from the American Institute of
Architects
 Numerous honorary doctorates and honorary titles
1922 HOLLYWOOOD BOWL,
AMPHITHEATRE,LOS ANGLES

1989
VITRA DESIGN MEUSEUM,
GERMANY

1991 GEHRY RESIDENCE,

CALIFORNIA,USA

1993
WEISMAN ART MEUSEUM
MINNEAPOLIS,USA
1996
DANCING HOUSE,
CRECZH REPUBLIC

1997 GUGGENHEIM MEUSEUM,

SPAIN

GEHRY TOWER,
1999 SPORT DEPARTMENT
BUILDING,HANOVER,GERMANY

2000

WALT DISNEY CONCRETE HALL ,

LA,USA
2005 MARTE HERFORD,
ART MUSEUM,GERMANY

2004 JAY PRITZKER PAVILLION,

CHICAGO

2007 IAC BUILDING,

INTERACTIVECORP’
S
HEADQUATER,NEW
YORK

2007

GUGGENHIEM ABU DHABI,

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
2007 LOU RUVO CENTRE FOR BRAIN HEALTH,
CHICAGO

8 SPRUCE STREET,
2011
NEWYORK

2011

NEW WORLD CENTRE,

FLORIDA ,TORONTO
 the
GUGGENHIUM
MUSUEM

Frank
O GEHRY
 GUGGENHIUM MUSEUM , SPAIN, 1997
 The work of American architect Frank O. Gehry, the Guggenheim
Museum has played a key role in the urban revitalization and
transformation of the area, in addition to becoming the symbol of
the city of Bilbao, Spain.
• It is situated on a plot of 32,500 square meters, of which 24,000
square meters are occupied by building. 9,066 square meters are
devoted to exhibition spaces.
CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES
 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.

ENTRANCE TO THE MUSUEM

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

PLAN

RIVER WALK

PLANS OF GUGGENHIUM MUSUEM , SPAIN

VIEW FROM CAMPO VOLATIN
FOOT BRIDGE
THIRD FLOOR PLAN
 Concept: The design of the building follows the style of Frank
Gehry. Inspired by the shapes and textures of a fish, it can be
considered a sculpture, a work of art in itself.
 The museum is essentially a shell that evokes the past industrial life
and port of Bilbao. It consists of a series of interconnected volumes,
some formed of orthogonal coated stone and others from a titanium
dkeleton covered by an organic skin. The connection between
volumes is created by the glass skin. The museum is integrated into
the city both by it height and the materials used. Seen from the river,
the form resembles a boat, but seen from above it resembles a
flower.
 SITED AS IT IS IN A PORT TOWN, IT IS INTENDED TO
RESEMBLE A SHIP.

• EXHIBITION SPACE IS DISTRIBUTED IN 19 GALLERIES.

• TEN HAVING REGULAR SHAPE WITH STONE FINISH , NINE OTHER
HAVE IRREGULAR SHAPE AND HAVE TITANIUM FINISH. 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.

ATRIUM ART GALLERIES EXHIBITION HALL

 Structure: The building is built with
load- bearing walls and ceilings, which have
an internal structure of metal rods that
form
grids with triangles. The shapes of the
museum could not have succeeded if it did
not use load-bearing walls and ceilings.
Catia(three dimensional design software)
determined the number of bars required in
each location, as well as the bars positions
and orientations. In addition to this
structure, the walls and ceilings have several
insulating layers and an outer coating of
titanium. Each piece is unique and exclusive
to the place, determined by Catia.

 Materials: Built of limestone, glass and

titanium, the museum used 33,000 pieces of
titanium half a millimeter thick, each with a
unique form suited to its location. As these
pieces are so thin, a perfect fit to the
curves is necessary. The glass has a special
treatment to let in the sun's light, but not
its heat.
Walt Disney Concert hall, Los Angeles CA
• The Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by the architect Frank Gehry, opened in
2003 after many years of gestation.
• The history of the building began in 1987 when Lillian Walt Disney, window of
businessman donates $50 million to start building a philharmonic hall. The idea was
to create a reference point for music, art and architecture, which position the city of
Los Angeles in the cultural level.
 Concept
• The design represents the style of their creator, architect Frank Gehry, could be
considered a work of art in itself.
• The forms are external inspired by a boat with sails drenched.
• The building is essentially a shell which consists of a series of interconnected volumes,
some form of orthogonal coated stone and other forms of organic and surfaces covered
with a corrugated metal skin of steel. As a bridge between the different volumes are
used glazed surfaces.
• The centerpiece of the interior of the building was designed to represent the hull of a
boat.
• The idea of the architect was to design a room with an evocative sculptural forms of
music, achieving an intimate connection between the archestra and audience
• The building also fulfills an important role in urban areas.

Structure
To calculate the complex shapes of the curves
Walt Disney Concert Hall was used to CATIA
software. This allowed us to determine the
structure and shape of each piece of steel that
covers them.
Gallery Level Plan

Plan Elevation
MATERIALS
• To coat the outer surfaces were used corrugated 12,500 pieces of steel together on the
outside. No two equal parts,as each piece takes a unique form of agreement to their
location.
• In areas outside of regular forms, the stone was used.
• Glass surfaces function as a liaison between the various volumes.
• The interior of the auditorium and rooms, is lined with fir wood. This is the same type of
wood that is used in the back of violonces and violas. Here was used in floors, walls and
ceilings.
  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.
 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
RESTAURENT AREA RIVER, WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE MOLDINGS THAT FOLLOW A
WAVY MOTION AND DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE WINDOWS SO THE
NON-ALIGNED.
“Ginger and Fred”
Dancing on the riverside
PLAN

CUPOLA RESEMBLING HAIRS AREA OPEN TO PUBLIC

 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.