Frank Gehry, Ideologies and Projects

1. Frank Gehry
Dr. Rama Al Rabadi
Ideologies & Projects.

2. ABOUT GEHRY…
Born: February 28, 1929 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Birth Name: Frank Owen Goldberg.
Education:
 Los Angeles City College
 University of Southern California. Architecture degree completed in 1954
 Harvard Graduate School of Design. Studied city planning for one year.
Personal Life: From 1952 to 1966, married to Anita Snyder, with whom he has two
daughters. Frank Goldberg's name change to Frank Gehry is generally attributed to his
first wife's encouragement. Gehry divorced Snyder and married Berta Isabel Aguilera in
1975. They have two sons.

3. Architectural Style …
Much of Gehry's work falls within the style of
Deconstructivism , which is often referred to as Post-
structuralist in nature for its ability to go beyond
current modalities of structural definition. This can be
seen in Gehry's house in Santa Monica
Gehry’s style at times seems unfinished or even crude,
but his work is consistent . Gehry has been called "the
apostle of chain-link fencing and corrugated metal
siding"

4. About deconstructivism
Started in the 1980’s and still going on today.
Deconstructivism is an approach to building
design that attempts to view architecture in bits
and pieces.
Deconstructivist buildings may seem to have no
visual logic
Ideas were borrowed from the French
philosopher, Jacques Derrida.
Buildings may appear to be made up of abstract
forms.

5. Contemporary art
Two strains of modern
art, minimalisn and cubism , have had an influence
on deconstructivism.
 A synchronicity of disjoined space is evident in
many of the works of Frank Gehry and Bernard
Tschumi.

6. CAREER OF FRANK GEHRY…
Buildings: Frank Gehry established his Los Angeles practice
in 1962. Early in his career, he designed houses inspired by
modern architects such as Richard Neutra and Frank Lloyd
Wright. Gehry's admiration of Louis Kahn's work influenced his
1965 box-like design of the Danziger House, a studio/residence
for designer Lou Danziger. With this work, Gehry began to be
noticed as an architect. As his career expanded, Gehry became
known for massive, iconoclastic projects that attracted
attention and controversy.

7. Furniture…
Gehry had success in the 1970s with his line of Easy
Edges chairs made from bent laminated cardboard. By 1991,
Gehry was using bent laminated maple to produce the Power
Play Armchair. These designs are part of the Museum of
Modern Art (MoMA) collection in NYC.

8. `
Wiggle Chair …
 Design: 1972
 Production: 1972
 Manufacturer: Easy
Edges, Inc., New York
 Size: 85 x 42.5 x 60;
seat height 45.5 cms
 Material: corrugated
cardboard, fiberboard,
round timber

9. `
Cardboard furniture came on the scene during the sixties as a cheap and light
alternative to traditional furniture. At that time attempts were made to
reinforce the support of the single-layer cardboard offered by using folds,
tabs, slots, and other devices. Nevertheless, cardboard was not able to
compete against plastic, which was just as light. Frank O. Gehry discovered a
process that ensured cardboard furniture-making a new burst of popularity.
“One day I saw a pile of corrugated cardboard outside of my office – the
material which I prefer for building architecture models – and I began to play
with it, to glue it together and to cut it into shapes with a hand saw and a
pocket knife.”1 It was thus possible to transform massive blocks of cardboard
into cardboard sculptures.

10. `
Gehry named this material Edge Board: it consisted of glued layers of corrugated cardboard
running in alternating directions, and in 1972 he introduced a series of cardboard furniture
under the name “Easy Edges.” The “Easy Edges” were extraordinarily sturdy, and due to
their surface quality, had a noise-reducing effect in a room. The design theorist Victor
Papanek, one of the first to address the ecological responsibility of designers, praised Edge
Board as a useful application of a packing material to furniture. The “Easy Edges” were a
great success and brought Gehry overnight fame as a furniture designer, but at the same
time he was into a role he did not like. Even sales prices were no longer consistent with
Gehry’s basic idea of offering furniture to suit anyone’s pocketbook. “ I started to feel
threatened. I closed myself off for weeks at a time in a room to rethink my life. I decided that
I was an architect, not a furniture designer … and I simply stopped doing it.”2 Gehry made
an international breakthrough as an architect in the late seventies, among other things with
the design of his private residence in Santa Monica, California, in 1978. Since 1986 Vitra
AG has reproduced four models of his “Easy Edges.” MK

11. `

12. `
The architect Frank Gehry is known for his use of unusual materials. With his 1972
furniture series 'Easy Edges', he succeeded in bringing a new aesthetic dimension to
such an everyday material as cardboard. Although surprisingly simple in appearance,
the pieces in this series are very durable and robust. The 'Easy Edges' Wiggle Stool is
vaguely reminiscent of traditional African stools and, like the latter, makes a
statement in any interior.

13. `

14. The Eisenhower Memorial Commission choose Frank Gehry's
design for the Washington, D.C. memorial honoring Dwight D.
Eisenhower's command of the Allied Forces in Europe in
World War II and as the 34th President of the United
States.
Memorials:

15. Because architecture takes so long to become realized, Gehry often
turns to the "quick fix" of designing smaller products, including
jewelry, trophies, and even liquor bottles. From 2003 to 2006 Gehry's
partnership with Tiffany & Co. released the exclusive jewelry
collection that included the sterling silver Torque Ring. In 2004 the
Canada-born Gehry designed a trophy for the international World Cup
of Ice Hockey tournament. Also in 2004, the Polish side of Gehry
designed a twisty vodka bottle for Wyborowa Exquisite.
TORQUE RING
Ice hockey tournament trophy
Gehry Designs:

16. Timeline…
 1929 Gehry was born on February 28, in Toronto, Canada.
 1947 He moved with his family to Los Angeles.
 1952 He married Anita Snyder.
 1953-1961 Gehry apprenticed with Victor Gruen in Los Angeles and with Andre
Remondet in Paris, France.
 1954 He recieved a bachelor of architecture degree from the University of Southern
California.
 1956-1957 He studied city planning at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
 1962 He founded his architectural firm Frank O. Gehry & Associates in Los Angeles.
 1968 He was divorced from Anita Snyder Gehry.
 1972-1973 Gehry was assisant professor at the University of Southern California.
 1974 He was elected to the College of Fellows at the American Institute of
Architects.

17.  1975 He married Berta Aguilera.
 1976 He was visiting critic at Rice University.
 1977 Gehry recieved the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture from the
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
 1977-1979 He was a visiting critic at the University of California.
 1979 He held the William Bishop Chair at Yale University.
 1982 He held the Charlotte Davenport Professorship in Architecture at Yale University.
He held this position again in 1985 and 1987-1989.
 1983 Gehry was visiting critic at Harvard University.
 1984 He was the Eliot Noyes Chair at Harvard University.
 1986 A retrospective exhibition of Gehry's work was held at the Walker Art Center,
Minneapolis, and traveled to Atlanta, Huston, Toronto, Los Angeles, and New York.
 1987 He was a Fellow of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

18.  1989 He was an assisant professor at the University of Southern California. He recieved
the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
 1991 Gehry was a trustee of the American Academy in Rome.
 1992 He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
 1994 Gehry received the Wolf Prize in Art (Architecture) and the Praemium Imperiale
Award in Architecture by the Japan Art Association.
He received the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Arts.
 1996 He received the title of Academician by the National Academy of Design.
 1996-1997 He was a visiting scholar at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich,
Switzerland.
 1997 He received the Friedrich Kiesler Prize. He was an honorary consul of the city of
Bilbao.

19.  1998 He was an Honorary Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts and a
visiting professor at the University of California. He received the gold
medal at the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.
 1999 He received the American Institute of Architects gold medal for
lifetime Achievement.
 2000 Gehry received the british architects gold medal from the royal
intitute.
 2004 he received the Royal Fine Art Comission's British Building of the
Year award for Maggie's Centre in Dundee, Scotland.
Gehry was chosen to design the Performing Arts Center at Ground Zero in
New York City.

20. Awards..
 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.
 1994: Dorothy and Lillian Gish Award for lifetime contribution to the arts.
 1998: National Medal of Arts.
 1998: Friedrich Kiesler Prize.
 1999: Lotos Medal of Merit, Lotos Club.
 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.

21. Famous Buildings…
 1967: Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland (first Gehry structure
reviewed by The New York Times)
 1978 and 1987: Gehry House (Gehry's private home), Santa Monica CA
 1993: Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
 1997: Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
 1999: Maggies Centre, Dundee, Scotland
 2000: The Experience Music Project (EMP), Seattle, Washington
 2001: Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson,
NY
 2004: MIT Stata Complex, Cambridge MA

22.  1989-2004: Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles CA
 2004: Jay Pritzker Music Pavillion, Chicago, Illinois
 2005: 'MARTa' Museum, Herford, Germany
 2007: IAC Building, New York City
 2008: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Kensington Gardens, London, UK
 2010: Dr Chau Chak Wing Building Design, the "Treehouse,", University
of Technology, Sydney, Australia
 2011: New York By Gehry, New York City
 2014: Biomuseo, Museum of Biodiversity, Panama City, Panama
Famous Buildings…

23. Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland…
Merriweather Post Pavilion is an outdoor concert venue nestled within the
40 preserved acres known as Symphony Woods, conveniently located in
the Baltimore/Washington corridor in Columbia, Maryland. Originally built
to be the home of the National Symphony Orchestra, Merriweather was
designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry. The natural outdoor
setting, the state-of-the-art sound system and large video screens make
this amphitheatre a favorite for bands and fans.

24. Gehry House (Gehry's private home)
Frank and Berta Gehry bought a pink
bungalow that was originally built in
1920. The original structure is the
conventional two-storey bungalow
with framing. Some interior finishes
have been stripped to reveal the
support of the structure inside the
residence. The bearing wall is raised
inner and outer structural frames
wooden support beams, girders and
joists.

25. `
The architect explains: "... Armed with very little
money I decided to build a new house around the old and
try to maintain a tension between the two, making one
define the other, and making them feel that the old
house was intact within the new, from the outside and
from the inside. These were the basic objectives ... "
Concept:
Frank Gehry said "... I loved the idea of leaving the house intact ... I
came up with the idea of building a new home about. We were told there
were ghosts in the house ... I decided they were ghosts of cubism.
Windows ... I wanted to make them look like they're dragging. At night,
since the glass is tilted reflect light ... So when you are sitting at this
table all these cars are passing by, you see the moon in the wrong place
... the moon is there but it reflects here ... and you think it's there and
do not know where the hell are you ... “

26. `
It makes use of unconventional materials such as fences with
trellis, glass inner wire and corrugated metal sheets, wood
framing, corrugated steel, plywood and light wood frames.
Materials:

27. `
Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
The museum's current building,
designed by renowned architect
Frank Gehry, was completed in
1993. The stainless steel skin
was fabricated and installed by
the A. Zahner Company, a
frequent collaborator with
Gehry's office.

28. `
It is one of the major landmarks on campus, situated on a bluff overlooking
the Mississippi River at the east end of theWashington Avenue Bridge. The building
presents two faces, depending on which side it is viewed from. From the campus side, it
presents a brick facade that blends with the existing brick and sandstone buildings. On
the opposite side, the museum is a playground of curving and angular brushed steel
sheets. This side is an abstraction of a waterfall and a fish.

29. `
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
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.

30. `
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.
Concept

31. `
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.

32. `
Maggies Centre, Dundee, Scotland
The Maggie’s Centre is very much on a domestic scale, with a floor area of 250m2 and
around the size of a large bungalow.
It includes an information library, a kitchen, sitting room, large relaxation common room,
and two small consultation rooms.

33. `
Structure: Stability for the remainder of the single-storey
structure was achieved by tying the square hollow sections to
the walls. These are all curved on plan, and are constructed in
brickwork. This was for two reasons: firstly, some of the walls
are to small radii which was not easily achievable in blockwork,
and secondly there was a need to minimize control joints. To
maintain uniformity of beam sizes, raking kickers were provided
to minimize overhang deflections.
The tower was designed as a separate structure, inherently
stable in its own right.

34. `
Concept:The design represents the style of their creator, architect Frank
Gehry, could be considered a work of art in itself. The extravagance of its
forms seems to defy any rules of harmony and symmetry. 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 orchestra and audience.
The building also fulfills an important role in urban areas.

35. `
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.
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 violoncelos and violas. Here
was used in floors, walls and ceilings.

36. `

37. `
Gehry's signature style couples his interest in
materiality with expressive form. These
buildings are usually composed of discrete
volumes, shaped with freely flowing curvilinear
roofs. Metal panels are often used as cladding,
either stainless steel or titanium.

38. `
Wibliography
http://www.pbs.org/
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
http://www.archdaily.com/
BIBLIOGRAPHY
o Frank Gehry By Caroline Evensen Lazo

39. Thank you
Done By:
Aseel Al-Deiri 1433198
Nour Salo 1433266
Samera Nayef 1433238