This Friday, February 28, one of the main representatives of deconstructivism, Pritzker Prize winner (1989), starchitect - Frank Gehry will celebrate his 91st birthday. To mark the occasion, in today's installment of our "Coffee Break" series, we recall seven of the architect's exceptional projects.
Private home
The architect's private home in California is a combination of an existing, traditional building with an added, disjointed block of wood, aluminum and glass.
Custom home, California, Santa Monica, 1977-1979
Photo credit: John McWaters
Guggenheim Museum
The Guggenheim Museum is a true architectural icon. The sprawling structure completely transformed the city and gave rise to the phenomenon known as the Bilbao effect.
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, 1991-1997
© Museo Guggenheim Bilbao
Dancing house
At our Czech neighbors, you can admire a building that resembles a dancing couple with its dynamic form. The townhouse, in honor of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, is sometimes called Ginger and Fred.
Dancing House, Prague, 1992-1996, pro: Vlado Milunić, Frank Gehry
photo: Ben Harrison Photography
Neue Zollhof
The Neuer Zollhof building complex, a media center in Düsseldorf, consists of three volumes. Resembling leaning towers, the buildings have different shapes, different heights and varying facade cladding - the outer ones are clad in white plaster and red brick, while the middle one, reflecting the materials of its neighbors, is clad in stainless steel.
Neue Zollhof, Düsseldorf, 1997-1999
Photo credit: Nancy Da Campo
Walt Disney Concert Hall
We have already written about this realization when ranking the ten important concert hall edifices in the world[here]. The Los Angeles concert hall is undoubtedly thoroughly Gehrovian.
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, 1999-2003
Photo credit: Roger Skeete
DZ Bank
The building combines a commercial function (including DZ Bank's Berlin headquarters) with a residential function (consisting of thirty-nine apartments). The heart of the building is an impressive glass atrium with an undulating covered conference room.
DZ Bank, Berlin, 1995-2001
Photo credit: Nancy Da Campo
Louis Vuitton Foundation Museum
The foundation museum building of the luxury fashion house is located in Paris' Bologna Forest. The edifice consists of three white blocks - icebergs - with irregular shapes, which are surrounded, leaning against a wooden structure, by glass sails.
Louis Vuitton Foundation Museum, Paris, 2008-2014
© NOWNESS
Which design is your favorite? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
