For Frank Gehry, one of the greatest architectural representatives of irregularity and uncertainty, it would be best to say "starchitect". Because he is too unique and contradictory to be limited by any current.
Born in Canada on February 28, 1929, and whose real name is Ephraim Owen Goldberg, the architect changes his name to Frank Gehry due to anti-Semitism in his time. Gehry spent most of his childhood with his grandparents. The famous architect collects wooden pieces he found in his grandfather's hardware store and builds imaginary buildings, bridges, and cities with his grandmother.
Because of this dreamy style, his father's approach to him; “My father thought I was a dreamer, and according to him, I would get nowhere. It was my mother who thought I had the potential to do something. He forced me," he says.
The family is in financial trouble when Frank Gehry's father's business starts to go bad. As a result, his family moved to America in 1947. Their move to America marks a turning point for Gehry. Moved to America at the age of 10, Frank Gehry works in various jobs such as truck driver, radio announcer, and chemical engineer to support his family while continuing his education. With the influence of the construction games he played with his grandmother, he began to take architecture lessons.
Gehry, who did an internship at Victor Gruen Associates while continuing his architectural education thanks to the scholarships he received, graduated from the University of Southern California in 1954. In the 1 year he spent in the army due to his compulsory military service, he designs furniture for the soldiers. He then moved to Cambridge with his wife to study at Harvard University in the city planning department. While continuing his education, he divorced his wife, who is the mother of 2 children, and returned to Los Angeles to practice architecture before graduating. With the design skills he developed in the army, he made a name for himself by releasing the "Easy Edges" cardboard furniture series in 1969.
He then takes a job at Victor Gruen Associates, where he apprenticed while in school, responsible for the construction of a private residence. After working in different architectural offices for a while, he founded his own company, Gehry Associates, also known as LLP. Adopting the established international style initiated by Le Corbusier and the Bauhaus in the early years, the architect later became interested in avant-garde art. Interested in different branches of art besides architecture, Gehry also follows sculptors and painters closely, adding a different dimension to his architectural perspective. When asked about his idol; He gives an example of Brancusi, who is not an architect but an important sculptor who has produced successful works.
Gehry begins to look for different languages in architecture, reacting to modernist buildings that have a cold and formulaic spirit. It creates buildings that are compatible with human scale and have contextual integrity. Stating that he wants to get rid of the boring attitude of symmetry, the architect exhibits asymmetrical designs. He develops a unique language with the compositions he creates using simple geometric forms. Keeping his innovative and experimental approach, Gehry adds a different dimension to each of his designs with this attitude.
Approaching his works with a sculptor's sensibility, Gehry expertly uses light and ventilation in his projects. Gehry makes his mark among important architects with the buildings he designed by acting out of the ordinary in material selection and evaluating waste materials.
In 1983, he is asked to build a temporary exhibition space for the Museum of Contemporary Art. In line with this, Frank Gehry transforms an old warehouse into an exhibition space. The exhibition space, which is still in use, is highly praised and appreciated. Later, he converted an ice warehouse in Santa Monica into an art museum and added new buildings, turning it into an art museum and office complex. Gehry, who has signed many projects, with his innovative design approach and experimental architecture; was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1989.
Gehry, who created all kinds of established architectural styles, is actually very difficult to place in any movement with this attitude that some researchers consider a style of rulelessness.
Frank Gehry is a Pisces, fish plays a big role in his life and designs. So much so that his colleagues nickname fish, and he signs his work under the name "Fish" instead of "Frank".
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31 Spectacular Buildings Designed by Frank Gehry
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/best-of-frank-gehry-slideshow