Eff Gehry

Since becoming an architect, answering the question, "what do you do?" in polite conversation has patterned a routine response.  I am frequently told, "Oh, I always wanted to be an architect," and "I could never do architecture because I am terrible at math," and the always classic, "Oh really?  Do you like Frank Gehry?"

At some point in the last decade, Frank Gehry supplanted Frank Lloyd Wright as the one name of an architect that people with limited knowledge of architecture seemed to know.  The fact that Frank Gehry has become the dictionary definition for 'architect' is not only disturbing it is revolting.  It is the equivalent of saying, "Oh you are a doctor?  Do you enjoy Dr. Kevorkian's work?  It is ground breaking, don't you think?"  Often having just met this person, I clearly do not want to offend them and I am graced with some tact, albeit a minute amount, so I have developed a clever answer that insinuates my disdain while acknowledging their right to enjoy his so-called work.  My response is:

"Gehry?  Well he certainly is a talented sculptor, but I am not sure he knows anything about architecture."

It is quite simple.  Frank Gehry appears to have no working knowledge of how architecture is created yet has successfully developed a brand all his own that brainwashes the unsuspecting masses.  Hats off to him for that.  Now giving credit where it is due, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain was a seminal building of the last 25 years.  The ability of this building to attract visitors and transform a tiny port town into a vital and thriving tourist destination is truly spectacular.  But is it architecture?

From the dawn of civilization, the most primitive structure that man erected was the lean-to shed, one post and one plane.  Soon after, man used the post and beam to frame larger expanses of space.  Further down the road, the arch was utilized and its inherent structural strength allowed some of the mots awe-inspiring ancient architecture.  After the industrial revolution and the widespread adoption of concrete, more advanced structures were developed from the hyperbolic paraboloid to free form architecture like Ronchamp.  At each of these critical junctures in architectural history, the architect/designer knew that vocabulary of design and made buildings that served their function with an inherent understanding of how it was to be supported and remain static. 

Enter Frank Gehry and his method of multiple iteration model making.  Working at different scales and in different mediums, he creates model after model until the perfect form is produced.  A work of art...not architecture.  This perfect model is handed to a team of people who's job it is to figure out how to build it.  Take for example the Pritzker Bandshell in Millennium Park (Chicago).

 soft ribbons of metal emanating from the stagefront

Now in real life, the bandshell appears exactly like the model in scale, proportion and vibrancy.  But if you have a chance to visit the next time you are in Chicago, take a walk around to the backside. The view from back there is much less inspiring.

complex web of struts, beams, and supports achieve the desired effect

It is precisely this lack of integrity of structure that is the most appalling to me.  It is deliberately deceptive.  All of his architecture follow this same premise: "Look at the ribbons, aren't they beautiful:?  Pay not attention to the structure behind the curtains."  Anyone can do this.  In fact, there are probably professional artists who could achieve even greater success if they had the access to Frank Gehry's engineers and drafters. 

I prefer my architecture pure, simple, and coherent.  A wall that is true to its materiality and structure.  A facade that is composed and artful, but not fake.  To me, those have greater significance and are a greater addition to the built environment.  Frank Gehry's work belongs INSIDE the museums that he most often designs.  So the next time you view or experience a Frank Gehry building, make sure to look beyond the flashy exterior skin and formulate your own opinion of the 'architecture.'  Then the next time you bump into an architect at a party be sure to say, "Oh you are an architect?  What is with that Frank Gehry guy?  I just don't see what all the fuss is about."