Frank Gehry FAIA
This Canadian born ‘Starchitect’ is likely California’s best known master draftsperson. Raised from a young age in Los Angeles and a graduate of USC, Gehry had firmly stamped his vision throughout L.A. County before reaching global status with his free-form undulating titanium clad attractions.
His early career began at Victor Gruen Associates, followed by a side-stepping stint in the Air Force before continuing studies at Harvard Graduate school of Design, he instead returned to work at numerous firms before traveling with his family to Paris to work with the revered André Remondet and study the works of Le Corbusier.
He partnered with Greg Walsh (Sci-Arc) from the 1960’s to the mid 90’s with various incarnations of the Gehry powerhouse, solidifying the practice as ‘Gehry Partners’ in 2001.
He undertook a number of home renovations during this time, the St Ives Residence, commissioned in 1976, included a new addition around three sides of a white 1939 Modernist stucco house (lived in by Al Pacino and featured below).
He quickly followed this with a controversial renovation of his personal Santa Monica residence and numerous citywide commissions ensued. His landmark Chiat/Day ‘Binocular’ building and various other municipal buildings firmly established his name and landed him the prestigious Pritzker Architect Prize in 1989.
In 1997 Gehry vaulted to a new level of international acclaim with the opening of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, numerous other world-class curvaceous structures followed and Los Angeles was bestowed the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003. Gehry remains one of the most recognized architects in the world, now you can own a Gehry work of your own.
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