FRANK GEHRY: THE DESIGNER OF ICONIC ARCHITECTURE

Challenging the accepted design paradigms of architecture, the striking and iconic structures designed by the Canadian-born American architect, Frank Owen Gehry, are acclaimed for their bold, postmodern shapes and unusual fabrications.

Renowned as one of the world's most notable architect, Gehry was born Frank Owen Goldberg on February 28, 1929, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 1949, Gehry moved with his family to Los Angeles and graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture. In 1956, Gehry moved to Massachusetts to enroll at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He later dropped out of Harvard and returned to California, making a name for himself with the launch of “Easy Edges” cardboard furniture line.

The construction of the Santa Monica residence in 1978 ultimately launched Gehry’s career to new heights and he began designing homes in Southern California on regular basis since 1980. The house earned both cheers and jeers in short order and won the American Institute of Architects' prestigious Twenty-Five Year Award in 2012.

In 1989, Gehry was awarded the Pritzker Prize and his career continued to boom, particularly with the completion of Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1997. He also achieved international acclaim for Los Angeles's Walt Disney Concert Hall, which opened in 2003.

Over the past few years, Gehry has completed several major projects, including Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, the BioMuseo in Panama, and his first building in Australia, the Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Gehry is known for his choice of unusual material as well as his architectural philosophy. His selection of material such as corrugated metals lends some of his designs an unfinished or even crude aesthetic. This consistent aesthetic has made Gehry one of the most distinctive and easily recognizable designer of the recent past. Despite his complex and ambitious designs, Gehry is famous for his professionalism and adherence to budgets.

Gehry's recent and ongoing projects include a new Guggenheim facility in Abu Dhabi, the new Facebook headquarters in California and a memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington, D.C., slated to be constructed at the foot of Capitol Hill.