Frank Gehry

Guggenheim Museum located in Bilbao, Spain

INDD 508 Materials & Processes 

Spencer Visit: Frank Gehry Film

Frank Gehry is a world renowned architect, sometimes referred to as "starchitect." When watching the film on Frank Gehry, I was fascinated at how ambitious, and confident he seemed. Even as an old man, he seemed very ambitious which I think is rare. It was also interesting to see him construct mock ups of potential buildings for the future. My one criticism of the film, though, is that there seemed to be a disconnect between the famous building Gehry was responsible for, and the buildings themselves. We see him talk about designing the buildings, and make mock ups of them, but I wanted to see a connection between his radical designs, and what engineering would allow. It's hard to imagine that designing buildings with completed shapes would go without road bumps. I wonder if he was criticized with the use of materials, and the ways in which he used them. At some points, although his designs seemed elegant, they seemed wasteful. 

As one of the world's most famous architects, Frank Gehry earns commissions from various parts of the world. Due to his success with the Guggenheim Museum, many locations seek Gehry's expertise in architecture in hopes of bringing economic growth to their cities. The beginning of the film was interesting as well. It sort of foreshadows the seemingly randomness in thought that Gehry seems to portray during the process of building. He doesn't give specific reasons as to why certain shapes exist within a structure. His explanations mostly state that 'it doesn't seem right,' and I think that's part of the cleverness that Gehry possess; he instinctively seems to know what's pleasing to the eye, and what is not.