FRANK OWEN

GEHRY

INTRODUCTION:

• FRANK OWEN GEHRY (BORN FRANK OWEN GOLDBERG) WAS BORN ON FEBRUARY 28,1929 IN TORONTO,CANADA.

• AT THE AGE OF 17,HE MOVED TO LOS ANGELES WITH HIS FAMILY.

EDUCATION & EARLY LIFE:• 1954- BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE DEGREE FROM

THE UNIVERSITYOF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

• 1956-STUDIED CITY PLANNING AT THE HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN IN CAMBRIDGE.

1962-ESTABLISHED HIS OWN FIRM IN LOS ANGELES

SINCE THEN,HE HAS DESIGNED SEVERAL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS IN AMERICA,JAPAN AND EUROPE.

HIS WORK EARNED HIM THE SIGNIFICANT PRITZKER ARCHITECTURAL PRIZE.

GEHRY’S STYLEHE FOLLOWEDTHE STYLE OF

DECONSTRUCTIVISM,WHICH BASICALLY REFERS TO STRUCTURES THAT DO NOT REFLECT SOCIAL OR UNIVERSAL IDEAS AND DO NOT REFLECT THE BELIEF THAT FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION.

HIS OWN RESIDENCE IN SANTA MONICA IS THE COMMONLY CITED EXAMPLE FOR THIS STYLE.

GEHRY’S STYLE AT TIMES SEEMS UNFINISHED OR EVEN CRUDE, BUT HIS WORK IS CONSISTENT.

• GEHRY RESIDENCE-CALIFORNIA His own residence• GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM-BILBAO,SPAIN Museum to exhibit works of artists• 8 SPRUCE STREET-MANHATTAN,NEW YORK CITY Residential building• WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL-LOS ANGELES,CALIFORNIA It was built as a performance venue.• WEISMAN ART MUSEUM-UNIVERSITY OF

MINNESOTA,MINNEAPOLIS It was a teaching museum for the university, often called as a

modern museum• DANCING HOUSE-PRAGUE,CZECH REPUBLIC It houses one of the finest dining restaurants.• EMP/SFM MUSEUM-SEATTLE,WASHINGTON It stands for ‘Experience Music Project and Science Fiction

Museum’• CINEMATHEQUE FRANCAISE-PARIS It offers daily screenings of movies from around the world.

LIST OF FAMOUS WORKS:

GEHRY RESIDENCE LOCATION: SANTA MONICA,CALIFORNIAYEAR: 1977MATERIALS: CHAIN LINK FENCES,WOOD AND CORRUGATED

STEEL.ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: DECONSTRUCTIVISM

THE ORIGINAL HOUSE WAS A SMALL TWO STOREY COTTAGE COVERED BY SHINGLE

LOW AQUA CONCRETE WALLS WERE USED TO MARK THE BOUNDARY.

CORRUGATED METAL WALLS WERE USED TO BUILD NEW SPACES LIKE THE KITCHEN AND DINING.

WOODEN PLANK WALLS WERE BUILT IN THE BACKYARD.

A NEW ROOF WAS ADDED TO THE ADDITIONAL SPACES CREATEDCHAIN LINK FENCING WAS USED TO ENCLOSE THE FLOOR ADDEDGLASS CUBES WERE PLACED OVER THE KITCHEN AND DINING TO ALLOW NATURAL LIGHT.

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GUGGENHEIM MUSEUMLOCATION: BILBAO,SPAINYEAR: 1997CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM: STEEL FRAME, TITANIUM SHEATHINGTHE MUSEUM FEATURES PERMANENT AND VISITING EXHIBITS OF WORKS BY SPANISH AND INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS.

ONE OF THE MOST ADMIRED WORKS OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE

HAS BEEN HAILED AS A “SIGNAL MOMENT IN THE ARCHITECTURAL CULTURE” BECAUSE IT REPRESENTS “ONE OF THOSE RARE MOMENTS WHEN CRITICS,ACADEMICS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC WERE COMPLETELY UNITED ABOUT SOMETHING”

INTERIOR OF THE

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALLLOCATION: LOS ANGELES ,CALIFORNIAYEAR:1999-2003TYPE: CONCERT HALLCAPACITY:2265

CONCEPT:THE FORMS ARE EXTERNAL INSPIRED BY

A BOAT WITH SAILS DRENCHEDTHE EXTRAVAGANCE OF ITS FORMS

SEEMS TO DEFY ANY RULES OF HARMONY AND SYMMETRY.

MATERIALS:12,500 PIECES OF CORRUGATED STEEL

WAS USED ON THE OUTER SURFACES.INTERIOR OF THE AUDITORIUM WAS

LINED WITH FIR WOOD.

After the construction, modifications were made to the Founders Room exterior.

while most of the building's exterior was designed with stainless steel given a matte finish, the Founders Room and Children's Amphitheater were designed with highly polished mirror-like panels, because of which the neighbourhood suffered glare caused by sunlight that reflected off the surfaces and concentrated in a manner similar to a parabolic mirror.

In 2005,these were dulled by lightly sanding the panelsto eliminate the unwanted glare.

The design of the hall included a large concert organ, completed in 2004, which was used in a special concert for the July 2004 National Convention of the American Guild

 Gehry wanted a distinctive, unique design for the organ of Organists

•It has an attached console built into the base of the instrument It is also equipped with a detached, movable console, which can be moved about as easily as a grand piano, and plugged in at any of four positions on the stageIn all, there are 72 stops, 109 ranks, and 6,125 pipes; pipes range in size from a few centimeters/inches to the longest being 9.75m (32 feet) (which has a frequency of 16 hertz)

DANCING HOUSELOCATION:PRAGUE,CZECH REPUBLICCONSTRUCTION : 1992-1996WAS NICKNAMED

‘FRED AND GINGER’ AFTER THE FAMOUS DANCERS FRED ASTAIRE AND GINGER ROGERS AS THE BUILDING RESEMBLED A PAIR

OF DANCERS

STRUCTURE:IT HAS A RESTAURANT ON THE TOP

FLOOR  The “dancing” shape is supported by 99

concrete panels, each a different shape and dimension. On the top of the building is a large twisted structure of metal nicknamed Medusa.

 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 that they are non-aligned

 The building is now seen as a work of art adding value to the cityscape of Prague.

8 SPRUCE STREETORIGINALLY CALLED BEEKMAN TOWERLOCATION: MANHATTAN,NEW YORK CITYYEAR: 2011ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: DECONSTRUCTIVISMHAS A HEIGHT OF 265 MTSIT IS A 76 STOREY SKYSCRAPERIT IS THE 11TH TALLEST RESIDENTIAL

BUILDINGITS STRUCTURAL FRAME IS MADE OF

REINFORCED CONCRETE.CONSISTS OF PUBLIC ELEMENTARY

SCHOOL,LUXURY RENTALS AND HOSPITAL.

•GEHRY’S INNOVATIVE INCORPORATION OF BAY WINDOWS CREATES THE TOWER’S DYNAMIC SILHOUETTE AS WELL AS AN EXCEPTIONAL VARIETY OF PANAROMIC VIEWS FROM WITHIN THE RESIDENCE.•BY SHIFTING THE BAY WINDOWS FROM FLOOR TO FLOOR AND TAILORING THE CONFIGURATION FOR EACH RESIDENCE.•GEHRY HAS GIVEN RESIDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO, AS HE PUTS IT “ STEP INTO SPACE”•WRAPPED IN STAINLESS STEEL CURTAIN WALL WITH GLASS PANELS,THE BAROQUE INSPIRED STRUCTURE HAS THE UNDULATING ASYMMETRIC LOOK OF AN ICONIC FRANK GEHRY STYLE.

FAMOUS QUOTES

“ARCHITECTURE SHOULD SPEAK OF ITS TIME AND PLACE, BUT YEARN FOR TIMELESSNESS”

“I THINK MY BEST SKILL AS AN ARCHITECT IS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF HAND-TO-EYE COORDINATION.I AM ABLE TO TRANSFER A SKETCH INTO A MODEL INTO A BUILDING”

“NOT EVERY PERSON HAS THE SAME KINDS OF TALENTS, SO YOU DISCOVER WHAT YOURS ARE AND WORK WITH THEM. DON’T TRY TO BE ME OR F.L.WRIGHT OR I.M.PEI. TRY TO BE YOURSELF. YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT DRIVES PEOPLE TO BUILD BUILDINGS.”

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. “

CONCLUSION: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.

GEHRY HAS COMBINED SENSUOUS CURVING FORMS WITH COMPLEX DECONSTRUCTIVE MASSING,ACHIEVING SIGNIFICANT NEW RESULTS.