Gehry, Frank

▪ 1995

      In designing the new American Center in Paris, which opened in June 1994, Frank Gehry created an exciting space for promoting U.S. culture. The complex, which included galleries and studios, two small theatres, apartments, and a language school, incorporated several of Gehry's distinguishing characteristics.

      Typical of Gehry's work, the American Center appeared to be a cluster of functional buildings instead of one monolithic structure. Large window areas overlooked the bustling city outside. Structural elements were emphasized. Open passageways invited movement and conversation. References to older architectural forms abounded. For example, the popular French mansard roof form appeared on the lower stories of one facade and again, around the corner, in tall, sloping windows.

      For a 1994 office building in a historic district of Prague, Gehry also played with earlier forms from nearby 18th- and 19th-century buildings to create a late 20th-century landmark. Other recent Gehry projects included a fish restaurant in Japan, the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, and a theatre at Euro Disneyland Paris.

      Frank Owen Gehry was born in Toronto on Feb. 28, 1929. His family immigrated to Los Angeles in 1947. Gehry studied architecture at the University of Southern California (1949-51; 1954) and city planning at Harvard University (1956-57). Before establishing his own firm, Frank O. Gehry & Associates, in 1962, he worked for several other architects. Southern California remained his home and his headquarters.

      Gehry's early designs were influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. In the mid-1960s he began producing the novel structures that established his reputation as a maverick. Gehry's output was prolific, often controversial. He steered away from modern glass boxes, conceiving each design as a sculptural form. His office was filled with large and small models.

      For Gehry, architectural space was meant to stimulate its inhabitants. The lively campus he created for Loyola Marymount Law School (1981-84) in downtown Los Angeles inspired a more dynamic on-campus spirit. Even when the client was a large corporation, structures were human-sized. For the Rouse Co. headquarters (Columbia, Md., 1974), he clustered a number of small buildings, one for each corporate division.

      Gehry won numerous honours and was a visiting professor at several universities. His design work was not limited to architecture. He did installations for several large art exhibitions, including "The Treasures of Tutankhamen" (1978). His love of inexpensive, functional materials led to the creation of lines of cardboard furniture, Easy Edges (1969-73) and Experimental Edges (1979-82). (MARGARET BARLOW)

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