Frank Gehry, one of the most celebrated Canadian-American architects of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, has passed away at the age of 96. Known for constructivism, Gehry was known for his dynamic and flowing structures. He was liberal with the use of titanium, stainless steel, and fractured geometries.
Best known for his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, it led to the naming of the term ‘Bilbao Effect’ – describing how a single iconic cultural building can help transform a city’s identity and economy. Born in Toronto, Frank Gehry, or Frank Owen Goldberg, was a Canadian by birth. Then, he moved to Los Angeles to start his own practice and went on to receive the biggest honours in the field of architecture, the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Frank Gehry’s most iconic creations
Guggenheim Museum, Spain
The reason behind Gehry’s international acclaim, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao was completed in 1977. Wrapped in titanium and shaped like a sweeping wave, the building completely reimagined the Spanish city’s waterfront and set a new benchmark for how architecture can influence a city. It fused cutting-edge engineering with a bold artistic spirit. In fact, co-architect Philip Johnson once hailed it as “the greatest building of our time.”
Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA
Located in Los Angeles, the Walt Disney Concert Hall features a stainless-steel exterior with Gehry’s signature sweeping style. Questioning conventional architecture, this marvel is acclaimed as an acoustically sophisticated concert hall. Gehry completed it in 2003.
Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris
Calling it France’s ‘great masterpiece’, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault praised Gehry’s legendary contribution to the haute couture brand, Louis Vuitton. Housing the contemporary art museum, it is considered one of his late-career masterpieces, completed in 2014.
8 Spruce Street, New York
Gehry’s first skyscraper was completed in 2011. This 76-storey residential tower also carried Frank Gehry’s signature wavy flow on the exterior. Located in New York’s iconic financial district, stands tall at 870 feet. 8 Spruce Street offers 22,000 square feet of luxury with spacious living and world-class views.
Millennium Park, Chicago
Also known as the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Gehry completed this project in 2004. One of the most iconic outdoor concert pavilions in architectural history, it is made of stainless‑steel proscenium and trellis of sound‑supporting elements.
Lou Ruvo Centre for Brain Health, Las Vegas
Even during the latter part of his career, Frank Gehry continued to receive big projects. In 2010, he completed the Cleveland Clinic‘s Lou Ruvo Centre for Brain Health in Las Vegas, which is seemingly a pile of collapsed stainless-steel facades.
Among Gehry’s many awards are the Pritzker Architecture Prize (1989), the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale prize for architecture (1992), the National Medal of the Arts (1998), the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal (1999), the Gold Medal for Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2002), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016).
The architecture titan reportedly passed away due to a brief respiratory illness at his Santa Monica home, reported AP. He also allegedly left behind a $10 million estate, stemming not just from his architectural projects but also collaborations, affiliations, product design work, and overall global influence.
