Frank Gehry, one of the most influential and groundbreaking architects of the modern era, has died at the age of 96. Known for his revolutionary avant-garde style and experimental approach to architecture, Gehry transformed the architectural landscape with his unconventional designs that challenged traditional building principles. His death was confirmed by his chief of staff Meaghan Lloyd.
Gehry's international fame reached its peak in 1997 with his titanium-covered design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The museum, crafted from titanium sheets, limestone, and glass, was instantly celebrated as a modern architectural marvel that transformed the city of Bilbao and boosted its tourism and local economy. However, his architectural breakthrough came years earlier when he redesigned his own home in Santa Monica, California, using unconventional materials like chain-link fencing, plywood, and corrugated steel.
Born in Toronto in 1929, Gehry moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to pursue his architectural education at the University of Southern California. He later completed additional studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1956 and 1957. After establishing his own firm, Gehry broke away from traditional architectural principles of symmetry, embracing unconventional geometric shapes and unfinished materials in what became known as the deconstructivism style.
Gehry's innovative approach involved blending unexpected materials and sheathing buildings in stainless steel to create curved exteriors that gave his structures arresting sculptural shapes. Later in his career, he pioneered the use of 3D modeling technology similar to that used by aerospace engineers to design sweeping, wind-like buildings – a practice largely avoided by other architects due to its complexity and high construction costs.
In 1989, at the age of 60, Gehry received the architecture industry's highest honor, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, for lifetime achievement. The Pritzker jury praised his work for possessing a "highly refined, sophisticated and adventurous aesthetic." The panel noted that "his designs, if compared to American music, could best be likened to Jazz, replete with improvisation and a lively unpredictable spirit."
Architect Philip Johnson, Gehry's American contemporary, described the Guggenheim Bilbao as "the greatest building of our time." The museum's success created what became known as the "Bilbao effect," where other cities attempted to replicate its economic revitalization through investment in daring architectural projects. This cultural phenomenon was even parodied in a 2005 episode of The Simpsons, where Gehry voiced himself designing a concert hall supposedly inspired by crumpled paper – a portrayal that later "haunted" him, as he told The Observer in 2011, because people genuinely believed his designs were inspired by crumpled paper rather than complex computations.
Following his success in Bilbao, Gehry became highly sought after and designed iconic structures worldwide. His portfolio includes the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park, the Gehry Tower in Germany, and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company, said of the Paris project: "He bestowed upon Paris and upon France his greatest masterpiece."
Gehry's unpredictable style ensured that no two of his works looked alike. Prague's Dancing House, completed in 1996, resembles a glass building folding in on itself, while his Hotel Marques in Spain, built in 2006, features thin sheets of wavy, multicolored metal. His design for a business school in Sydney has been compared to a brown paper bag.
One of his most notable American projects, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, features metal layering that resembles sails billowing in the wind. After its 2003 opening, critics described it as a "pile of broken crockery," a "fortune cookie gone berserk," and an "emptied waste basket." In a 2007 New Yorker interview, Gehry shrugged off such criticism, quipping: "At least they're looking!"
Paul Goldberger, author of "Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry," who knew the architect closely, said Gehry wanted to work "until the day he died." Goldberger told BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight: "He was one of the very few architects of our time to engage people emotionally. He was all about pushing the envelope... wanting to use the most advanced technology to do the most adventurous things."
Gehry is survived by two daughters from his first marriage, Leslie and Brina, as well as his wife, Berta Isabel Aguilera, and their two sons, Alejandro and Samuel. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney extended his "deepest condolences" to Gehry's family and the "many admirers of his work," adding: "His unmistakable vision lives on in iconic buildings around the world." The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao posted a video tribute, writing on Instagram: "We will be forever grateful, his spirit and legacy will always remain connected to Bilbao."
