Frank O. Gehry - Academy of Achievement

<!doctype html> <html lang="en-US" prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns#"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://www.achievement.org:80/achiever/frank-gehry/","20180622103947","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1529663987"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="57x57" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="114x114" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-114x114.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="72x72" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-72x72.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="144x144" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-144x144.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="60x60" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-60x60.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="120x120" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="76x76" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-76x76.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="152x152" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-152x152.png"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-196x196.png" sizes="196x196"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-96x96.png" sizes="96x96"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-32x32.png" sizes="32x32"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-16x16.png" sizes="16x16"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-128.png" sizes="128x128"/> <meta name="application-name" content="Academy of Achievement"/> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#000000"/> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-144x144.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-square70x70logo" content="http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-70x70.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-square150x150logo" content="http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-150x150.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-wide310x150logo" content="http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-310x150.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-square310x310logo" content="http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-310x310.png"/> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947cs_/https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Source+Sans+Pro:400,600,400italic,600italic,700,700italic" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <title>Frank O. Gehry - Academy of Achievement</title>  <meta name="description" content="When the other products of a culture have faded from human memory, it is the works of architecture that remain to define an era for successive generations. As the 20th century gave way to the 21st, it was hard to dispute that the definitive architect of the age was Frank Gehry, Canadian by birth, a resident of Los Angeles by choice. He first drew notice in his adopted city with works deploying commonplace industrial materials in unexpected ways, but he came to international prominence with works which exploded the geometry of traditional architecture to create a dramatic new form of expression. He deployed cutting-edge computer technology to realize shapes and forms of hitherto unimaginable complexity, such as the startling irregularities of his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, or the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. In these monumental buildings, the uninhibited whimsy of his pencil sketches took shape in powerful structures of gleaming titanium. From Switzerland to Japan, from Santa Monica to Prague, his buildings have transformed human expectations of the designed space. Once mocked for their astonishing originality, his buildings have become the signature structures of the challenging times we live in."/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-gehry/"/> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Frank O. Gehry - Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="og:description" content="<p class="inputTextFirst">When the other products of a culture have faded from human memory, it is the works of architecture that remain to define an era for successive generations. As the 20th century gave way to the 21st, it was hard to dispute that the definitive architect of the age was Frank Gehry, Canadian by birth, a resident of Los Angeles by choice.</p> <p class="inputText">He first drew notice in his adopted city with works deploying commonplace industrial materials in unexpected ways, but he came to international prominence with works which exploded the geometry of traditional architecture to create a dramatic new form of expression. He deployed cutting-edge computer technology to realize shapes and forms of hitherto unimaginable complexity, such as the startling irregularities of his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, or the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. In these monumental buildings, the uninhibited whimsy of his pencil sketches took shape in powerful structures of gleaming titanium.</p> <p class="inputText">From Switzerland to Japan, from Santa Monica to Prague, his buildings have transformed human expectations of the designed space. Once mocked for their astonishing originality, his buildings have become the signature structures of the challenging times we live in.</p>"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-gehry/"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-Feature-Image-2800x1120.jpg"/> <meta property="og:image:width" content="2800"/> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1120"/> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"/> <meta name="twitter:description" content="<p class="inputTextFirst">When the other products of a culture have faded from human memory, it is the works of architecture that remain to define an era for successive generations. As the 20th century gave way to the 21st, it was hard to dispute that the definitive architect of the age was Frank Gehry, Canadian by birth, a resident of Los Angeles by choice.</p> <p class="inputText">He first drew notice in his adopted city with works deploying commonplace industrial materials in unexpected ways, but he came to international prominence with works which exploded the geometry of traditional architecture to create a dramatic new form of expression. He deployed cutting-edge computer technology to realize shapes and forms of hitherto unimaginable complexity, such as the startling irregularities of his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, or the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. In these monumental buildings, the uninhibited whimsy of his pencil sketches took shape in powerful structures of gleaming titanium.</p> <p class="inputText">From Switzerland to Japan, from Santa Monica to Prague, his buildings have transformed human expectations of the designed space. Once mocked for their astonishing originality, his buildings have become the signature structures of the challenging times we live in.</p>"/> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Frank O. 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class="feature-area__text-inner text-white"> <h2 class="serif-8 feature-area__text-subhead back"><a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever">All achievers</a></h2> <h1 class="serif-1 entry-title feature-area__text-headline">Frank O. Gehry</h1> <h5 class="sans-6 feature-area__blurb">Architecture Gold Medal</h5> </div> </figcaption> </div> </div> </figure> </header> </div>  <nav class="in-page-nav row fixedsticky"> <ul class="nav text-xs-center clearfix" role="tablist"> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link active" data-toggle="tab" href="#biography" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Biography">Biography</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#profile" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Profile">Profile</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#interview" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Interview">Interview</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#gallery" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Gallery">Gallery</a> </li> </ul> </nav> <article class="post-2392 achiever type-achiever status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry careers-artist-and-architect"> <div class="entry-content container clearfix">  <div class="tab-content"> <div class="tab-pane fade in active" id="biography" role="tabpanel"> <section class="achiever--biography"> <div class="banner clearfix"> <div class="banner--single clearfix"> <div class="col-lg-8 col-lg-offset-2"> <div class="banner__image__container"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes/id1025864075?mt=2" target="_blank"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <img class="lazyload banner__image" data-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry_WhatItTakes_256x256-190x190.jpg" alt=""/> </figure> </a> </div> <div class="banner__text__container"> <h3 class="serif-3 banner__headline"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes/id1025864075?mt=2" target="_blank"> Listen to this achiever on <i>What It Takes</i> </a> </h3> <p class="sans-6 banner__text m-b-0"><i>What It Takes</i> is an audio podcast on iTunes produced by the American Academy of Achievement featuring intimate, revealing conversations with influential leaders in the diverse fields of endeavor: music, science and exploration, sports, film, technology, literature, the military and social justice.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <header class="editorial-article__header col-md-8 col-md-offset-2 text-xs-center"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> <h3 class="serif-3 quote-marks">There's a range of creativity possible, and I think it behooves us to explore that envelope and push at it.</h3> </header> </div> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar clearfix"> <h2 class="serif-3 p-b-1">Building the Inspiring Space</h2> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> February 28, 1929 </dd> </div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Frank Gehry was born Ephraim Owen Goldberg in Toronto, Canada. He moved with his family to Los Angeles as a teenager in 1947 and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen. His father changed the family’s name to Gehry when the family immigrated. Ephraim adopted the first name Frank in his 20s; since then he has signed his name Frank O. Gehry.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_27613" style="width: 678px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-27613 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-FGBox-02_258.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-27613 size-full lazyload" alt="gehry-fgbox-02_258" width="678" height="1187" data-sizes="(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-FGBox-02_258.jpg 678w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-FGBox-02_258-217x380.jpg 217w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-FGBox-02_258-434x760.jpg 434w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-FGBox-02_258.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">A young Ephraim Owen Goldberg with his parents, Irving and Thelma, at their home in Toronto, Canada.</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Uncertain of his career direction, the teenage Gehry drove a delivery truck to support himself while taking a variety of courses at Los Angeles City College. He took his first architecture courses on a hunch, and became enthralled with the possibilities of the art, although at first he found himself hampered by his relative lack of skill as a draftsman. Sympathetic teachers and an early encounter with modernist architect Raphael Soriano confirmed his career choice. He won scholarships to the University of Southern California and graduated in 1954 with a degree in architecture.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_27614" style="width: 2994px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-27614 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-FG_.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-27614 size-full lazyload" alt="wp-gehry-fg_" width="2994" height="4186" data-sizes="(max-width: 2994px) 100vw, 2994px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-FG_.jpg 2994w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-FG_-272x380.jpg 272w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-FG_-544x760.jpg 544w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-FG_.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Frank as a young teenager. He moved to Los Angeles in 1947 and soon thereafter took his first architectural class.</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Los Angeles was in the middle of a post-war housing boom, and the work of pioneering modernists like Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler were an exciting part of the city’s architectural scene. Gehry went to work full-time for the notable Los Angeles firm of Victor Gruen Associates, where he had apprenticed as a student, but his work at Gruen was soon interrupted by compulsory military service. After serving for a year in the United States Army, Gehry entered the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he studied city planning, but he returned to Los Angeles without completing a graduate degree. He briefly joined the firm of Pereira and Luckman before returning to Victor Gruen. Gruen Associates were highly successful practitioners of the severe utilitarian style of the period, but Gehry was restless. He took his wife and two children to Paris, where he spent a year working in the office of the French architect Andre Remondet and studied firsthand the work of the pioneer modernist Le Corbusier.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_13802" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-13802 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/geh0-corbusier-gehry-GettyImages-160653107.jpg"></noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-13802 lazyload" alt="Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, better known as Le Corbusier, the Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, author and one of the pioneers of modern architecture. Frank Gehry spent a year as a young architect in Paris where he studied the work of Le Corbusier. (Photo by Willy Rizzo / Paris Match via Getty Images)" width="2280" height="2272" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/geh0-corbusier-gehry-GettyImages-160653107.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/geh0-corbusier-gehry-GettyImages-160653107-190x190.jpg 190w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/geh0-corbusier-gehry-GettyImages-160653107-380x380.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/geh0-corbusier-gehry-GettyImages-160653107-760x757.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/geh0-corbusier-gehry-GettyImages-160653107.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, better known as Le Corbusier, the Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, author and one of the pioneers of modern architecture. Frank Gehry spent a year as a young architect in Paris, where he studied the work of Le Corbusier. (Photo by Willy Rizzo/Paris Match via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Gehry and his family returned to Los Angeles in 1962, and he established his own firm, Gehry Associates, now known as Gehry Partners, LLP. For a number of years, he continued to work in the established International Style, initiated by Le Corbusier and the Bauhaus, but he was increasingly drawn to the avant-garde arts scene growing up around the beach communities of Venice and Santa Monica. He spent more of his time in the company of sculptors and painters like Ed Kienholz, Bob Irwin, Ed Moses and Ed Ruscha, who were finding new uses for the overlooked by-products of industrial civilization. Frank Gehry began to look for an opportunity to express a more personal vision in his own work.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_26696" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-26696 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-GEHRY-2013.0026-C_JWhite-e1438698249845.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-26696 size-full lazyload" alt="2012: Frank Gehry, "Fish Lamp", metal wire, ColorCore formica, silicone, and wooden base. The first Fish Lamps, which were shown in “Frank Gehry: Unique Lamps” in 1984 at Gagosian Los Angeles, employed wire armatures molded into fish shapes, onto which shards of ColorCore are individually glued, creating clear allusions to the morphic attributes of real fish. Since the creation of the first lamp in 1984, Gehry’s Fish Lamps have been exhibited in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and now Rome. The fish has become a recurrent motif in Gehry’s work, as much for its “good design” as for its iconographical and natural attributes. Its quicksilver appeal informs the undulating, curvilinear forms of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (1997); the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago (2004); and the Marqués de Riscal Vineyard Hotel in Elciego, Spain (2006), as well as the Fish Sculpture at Vila Olímpica in Barcelona (1989–92) and Standing Glass Fish for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (1986). In 2012 Gehry decided to revisit his earlier ideas, and began working on an entirely new group of Fish Lamps. The resulting works range in scale from life-size to outsize, and the use of ColorCore is bolder, incorporating larger and morejagged elements. The sculptures are each unique, and each made by hand. The softly glowing Fish Lamps are full of whimsy and vigor. Curling and flexing in attitudes of simulated motion, these artificial creatures emit a warm, incandescent light. This intimation of life, underscored by the almost organic textures of the nuanced surfaces, presents a spirited symbiosis of material, form, and function. (Josh White)" width="2280" height="1522" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-GEHRY-2013.0026-C_JWhite-e1438698249845.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-GEHRY-2013.0026-C_JWhite-e1438698249845-380x254.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-GEHRY-2013.0026-C_JWhite-e1438698249845-760x507.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-GEHRY-2013.0026-C_JWhite-e1438698249845.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Frank Gehry, <em>Fish Lamp</em>, metal wire, ColorCore formica, silicone, and wooden base. The first Fish Lamps, which were shown in <em>Frank Gehry: Unique Lamps</em> in 1984 at Gagosian Los Angeles, employed wire armatures molded into fish shapes, onto which shards of ColorCore are individually glued, creating clear allusions to the morphic attributes of real fish. Since the creation of the first lamp in 1984, Gehry’s Fish Lamps have been exhibited in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Rome. The fish has become a recurrent motif in Gehry’s work, as much for its “good design” as for its iconographical and natural attributes. Its quicksilver appeal informs the undulating, curvilinear forms of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (1997); the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago (2004); and the Marqués de Riscal Vineyard Hotel in Elciego, Spain (2006), as well as the <em>Barcelona Fish s</em>culpture at Vila Olímpica in Barcelona (1989–92) and <em>Standing Glass Fish</em> for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (1986). In 2012, Gehry decided to revisit his earlier ideas, and began working on an entirely new group of Fish Lamps. The resulting works range in scale from life-size to outsize, and the use of ColorCore is bolder, incorporating larger and more jagged elements. The softly glowing Fish Lamps are full of whimsy and vigor. Curling and flexing in attitudes of simulated motion, these artificial creatures emit a warm, incandescent light. This intimation of life, underscored by the almost organic textures of the nuanced surfaces, presents a spirited symbiosis of material, form, and function.</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">He had his first brush with national attention when some furniture he had built from industrial corrugated cardboard experienced a sudden popularity. The line of furniture, called Easy Edges, was featured in national magazine spreads, and the Los Angeles architect experienced an unexpected notoriety. Although Gehry built imaginative houses for a number of artist friends, including Ruscha, in the 1970s, for most of the decade his larger works were distinguished but relatively conventional buildings such as the Rouse Company headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, and the Santa Monica Place shopping mall.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_8843" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-8843 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpres-gehry-santamonica.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-8843 size-full lazyload" alt="Frank Gehry's Santa Monica residence. A breakthrough in his work, it was initially resisted by his Santa Monica neighbors. (Frank Gehry & Associates)" width="1600" height="1206" data-sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpres-gehry-santamonica.jpg 1600w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpres-gehry-santamonica-380x286.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpres-gehry-santamonica-760x573.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpres-gehry-santamonica.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Frank Gehry’s Santa Monica residence. A breakthrough in his work, it was initially resisted by Gehry’s neighbors.</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Gehry found a creative outlet in rebuilding his own home, converting what he called “a dumb little house with charm” into a showplace for a radically new style of domestic building. He took common, unlovely elements of American homebuilding, such as chain link fencing, corrugated aluminum and unfinished plywood, and used them as flamboyant expressive elements, while stripping the interior walls of the house to reveal the structural elements. His Santa Monica neighbors were scandalized, but Gehry’s house attracted serious critical attention, and he began to employ more imaginative elements in his commercial work. A series of public structures in and around Los Angeles marked his evolution away from orthodox modernist practice, including the Frances Goldwyn Branch Library in Hollywood, the California Aerospace Museum and the Loyola University Law School. A number of his works in this period featured the unusual decorative motif of a Formica fish, and he designed a number of lamps and other objects in the form of snakes and fishes.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_26694" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-26694 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-Barcelona_Frank_Gehrys_Peix.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-26694 size-full lazyload" alt="1992: One of the first public projects of Gehry is the Barcelona Fish – a huge fish sculpture placed on Barcelona’s waterfront for the 1992 Olympics. The monumental fish sculpture functions as a landmark in the Olympic Village, anchoring a retail complex designed by Gehry Partners within a larger hotel development by Skidmore, Owing & Merill. This fish sculpture was also a landmark in the history of Frank O. Gehry & Associates, inaugurating the firm's use of computer-aided design and manufacturing. The project's financial and scheduling constraints prompted James M. Glymph, a partner in the firm, to search for a computer program that would facilitate the design and construction process, leading to the adoption of CATIA (computer aided three-dimensional interactive application). The sculpture was modeled entirely in 3D and delivered directly to the fabricators as a 3D model. The fish is a frequently recurring motif in Gehry's work, serving as inspiration and mascot." width="2280" height="1514" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-Barcelona_Frank_Gehrys_Peix.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-Barcelona_Frank_Gehrys_Peix-380x252.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-Barcelona_Frank_Gehrys_Peix-760x505.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-Barcelona_Frank_Gehrys_Peix.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">1992: One of the first public projects of Gehry is the <em>Barcelona Fish</em> — a huge fish sculpture placed on Barcelona’s waterfront for the 1992 Olympics. The monumental fish sculpture functions as a landmark in the Olympic Village, anchoring a retail complex designed by Gehry Partners. This fish sculpture was also a landmark in the history of Frank O. Gehry & Associates, inaugurating the firm’s use of computer-aided design and manufacturing. The project’s financial and scheduling constraints prompted James M. Glymph, a partner in the firm, to search for a computer program that would facilitate the design and construction process, leading to the adoption of CATIA (computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application). The sculpture was modeled in 3D and delivered to the fabricators as a 3D model. The fish is a frequently recurring motif in Gehry’s work, serving as an inspiration.</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">By the mid-’80s, his work had attracted international attention, and he was commissioned to build the Vitra furniture factory in Basel, Switzerland, as well as the Vitra Design Museum in Weil-am-Rhein, Germany. These projects established him as a major presence on the international architecture scene. His buildings displayed a penchant for whimsy and playfulness previously unknown in serious architecture. Most distinctive of all was his ability to explode familiar geometric volumes and reassemble them in original new forms of unprecedented complexity, a practice the critics dubbed “deconstructivism.” His international reputation was confirmed when he received the 1989 Pritzker Prize, the world’s most prestigious architecture award.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_8852" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-8852 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Rasin-Building.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-8852 size-full lazyload" alt="The Rasin Building, also known as the Dancing House or the Fred and Ginger Building, designed by Frank Gehry in Prague, Czech Republic. " width="2280" height="3420" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Rasin-Building.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Rasin-Building-253x380.jpg 253w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Rasin-Building-507x760.jpg 507w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Rasin-Building.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The Rasin Building, also known as the Dancing House or the Fred and Ginger Building, in Prague, Czech Republic.</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Although he originally completed his design for the proposed Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles in 1989, funding shortages and political infighting delayed construction of the project for many years. The Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, completed in 1990, was to be Gehry’s first monumental work in his own country, a billowing fantasy in brick and stainless steel. Meanwhile, his interest in collaboration with other artists was expressed in the fanciful design for the West Coast headquarters of the advertising firm Chiat Day, in Venice, California. The entrance to the building took the form of a pair of giant binoculars, created by the sculptors Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_30487" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-30487 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-purple-and-blue-image.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-30487 size-full lazyload" alt="gehry-frank-purple-and-blue-image" width="2280" height="1568" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-purple-and-blue-image.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-purple-and-blue-image-380x261.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-purple-and-blue-image-760x523.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-purple-and-blue-image.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Frank Gehry joined forces with Dassault Systemes for a collaborative development to revolutionize the world of architecture. The three-dimensional computer-aided design solution, developed for the aerospace industry, allowed Gehry to create technologically-sophisticated masterpieces such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Although his main project for Los Angeles went unbuilt through the ’90s, he completed major projects in a number of other countries. His playful side reappeared in the “Dancing House” in the Czech capital, Prague. Comprising two undulating cylinders on a corner facing the river Vltava, the Czechs nicknamed the building “Fred and Ginger.” His proposal for a museum in Seoul, South Korea, which he discusses in his 1995 interview with the Academy of Achievement, was ultimately rejected, but an even more ambitious undertaking lay just ahead.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_8845" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-8845 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-174610889.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-8845 size-full lazyload" alt="Frank Gehry's masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. (© Jose Fuste Raga/CORBIS)" width="2280" height="1514" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-174610889.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-174610889-380x252.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-174610889-760x505.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-174610889.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Frank Gehry’s masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The museum has been voted as the most important piece of architecture created since 1980 and heralded as a “signal moment in architectural culture.”</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Gehry’s most spectacular design of the 1990s was that of the new Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, completed in 1997. Gehry first envisioned its form, like all his works, through a simple freestyle hand sketch, but breakthroughs in computer software had enabled him to build in increasingly eccentric shapes, sweeping irregular curves that were the antithesis of the severely rectilinear International Style. Traditional modernists criticized the work as arbitrary, or gratuitously eccentric, but distinguished former exponents of the International Style, such as the late <span class="s2">Philip Johnson,</span> championed his work, and Gehry became the most visible of an elite cohort of highly publicized “starchitects.” He drew fire again with his design for the Experience Music Project Museum in Seattle, but in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, a long-delayed project was reaching fruition.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_8849" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-8849 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-Hotel-Marques-de-Riscal-photo-Thomas-Meyer.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-8849 size-full lazyload" alt="Marques de Riscal Hotel in Elciego, Spain (2006) designed by Frank Gehry." width="2280" height="1514" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-Hotel-Marques-de-Riscal-photo-Thomas-Meyer.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-Hotel-Marques-de-Riscal-photo-Thomas-Meyer-380x252.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-Hotel-Marques-de-Riscal-photo-Thomas-Meyer-760x505.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-Hotel-Marques-de-Riscal-photo-Thomas-Meyer.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">2006: Marqués de Riscal Hotel in Elciego, Spain, designed by Gehry. The multi-colored titanium facade reflects the hues of Rioja, the silver foil shielding the cork and the gold mesh which adorns all Marqués de Riscal wine bottles.</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The year 2004 saw the long-awaited completion of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The building opened to great public celebration and immediately became the sprawling city’s landmark building. Although built after his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the design actually predated it and featured a similar panoply of exploding titanium. The splayed pipes of the hall’s massive pipe organ were likened by more than one writer to a packet of French fries, but the public response was ecstatic. Gehry’s earlier experience building and renovating concert halls and amphitheaters had paid off in a facility that not only attracted international attention with its striking appearance, but thrilled musicians and listeners with its acoustically brilliant interior.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_13638" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-13638 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehr0-Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-13638 size-full lazyload" alt="Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall opened in 2004 in downtown Los Angeles. (John O'Neill / Public Domain)" width="2280" height="1098" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehr0-Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehr0-Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall-380x183.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehr0-Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall-760x366.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehr0-Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall opened in 2004 in downtown Los Angeles, California. (John O’Neill)</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Over the years, Gehry has lent his imaginative designs to a number of products outside the field of architecture, including the Wyborovka Vodka bottle, a wristwatch for Fossil, jewelry for Tiffany & Co. and the World Cup of Hockey trophy. In 2006, the architect and his work were the subject of a feature-length documentary film, <i>Sketches of Frank Gehry</i>, by director Sydney Pollack.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_26788" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-26788 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-AP_724971320598.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-26788 size-full lazyload" alt="Canadian artist Frank Gehry, who has recently been announced as the architect to take on the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, stands next his fish lamps at the opening of his exhibition at the Gagosian Mayfair gallery, in central London, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)" width="2280" height="1436" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-AP_724971320598.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-AP_724971320598-380x239.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-AP_724971320598-760x479.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-AP_724971320598.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">November 7, 2013: Frank Gehry, who has recently been announced as the architect to take on the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, stands next to his <em>Fish Lamps</em> at the opening of his exhibition at the Gagosian Mayfair gallery, in London. Fish have been a constant creative inspiration throughout Frank Gehry’s career as an architect.</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">In the following years, Gehry immersed himself in a number of projects, including the Barclays Center sports arena in Brooklyn, New York, a concert hall for the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, and another branch of the Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi. Most ambitious of all is the massive Grand Street project, a plan to entirely remake the thoroughfare leading from Los Angeles City Hall to Disney Hall. When it is completed, a wide swath of downtown Los Angeles will bear the indelible stamp of its adopted son, Frank Gehry, and his restless imagination. In 2010, <i>Vanity Fair</i> magazine polled 52 of the world’s best-known architects and architectural critics, asking them to name the most significant works of architecture of the last 30 years. By an overwhelming margin they placed Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao at the top of the list.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_8844" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-8844 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-42-62294744.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-8844 size-full lazyload" alt="Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton in the Bois de Boulogne. (© Christopher Peterson/Splash News/Corbis)" width="2280" height="1204" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-42-62294744.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-42-62294744-380x201.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-42-62294744-760x401.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-42-62294744.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Frank Gehry’s <em>Fondation Louis Vuitton</em> in the Bois de Boulogne. (© Christopher Peterson/Splash News/Corbis)</figcaption></figure><p class="p1"><span class="s1">In 2014, the architect, age 85, completed one of his most dramatic structures yet: the billowing glass and steel <i>Fondation Louis Vuitton</i> in Paris, France. The project was built as a center for contemporary art and culture, and to house the rapidly growing art collection of the charitable arm of the French luxury-goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton. The 126,000-square-foot, 2.5-story building is sunk slightly below ground level to comply with the height limits of Paris’s main park, the Bois de Boulogne. The building’s glass and steel exterior framework, which Gehry calls the <i>Verrière</i>, was inspired in part by photographs of a greenhouse that had formerly stood on the site. The interior, which Gehry terms “the iceberg,” is formed by an array of white concrete cubes, supplying ample neutral space for the exhibition of art. The interior employs water in the form of a moat and a waterfall to reflect the ample light that floods all connecting areas of the structure. Located among the fields and trees of the <i>Jardin d’Acclimatation</i>, the historic children’s playground of the Bois de Boulogne, the Fondation Louis Vuitton may soon become the newest beloved landmark of the City of Light.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_32895" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-32895 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-wh-2016.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-32895 size-full lazyload" alt="November 22, 2016: President Barack Obama awards Frank Gehry with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C." width="2280" height="1710" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-wh-2016.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-wh-2016-380x285.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-wh-2016-760x570.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-wh-2016.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">November 22, 2016: President Barack Obama presents Frank O. Gehry with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, during an inspiring ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.</figcaption></figure><p>In 2016, Frank Gehry’s accomplishments were honored by President Barack Obama with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The presidential awards citation, read in part, “never limited by conventional materials, styles, or processes, Frank Gehry’s bold and thoughtful structures demonstrate architecture’s power to induce wonder and revitalize communities. From his pioneering use of technology to the dozens of awe-inspiring sights that bear his signature style, to his public service as a citizen artist through his work with Turnaround Arts, Frank Gehry has proven himself an exemplar of American innovation.”</p> </body></html> <div class="clearfix"> </div> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane fade" id="profile" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <header class="editorial-article__header"> <figure class="text-xs-center"> <img class="inductee-badge" src="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/inducted-badge@2x.png" alt="Inducted Badge" width="120" height="120"/> <figcaption class="serif-3 text-brand-primary"> Inducted in 1995 </figcaption> </figure> </header> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <dl class="clearfix m-b-0"> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Career</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> <div><a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.artist-and-architect">Artist and Architect</a></div> </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> February 28, 1929 </dd> </div> </dl> </aside> <article class="col-md-8 editorial-article clearfix"> <p class="inputTextFirst">When the other products of a culture have faded from human memory, it is the works of architecture that remain to define an era for successive generations. As the 20th century gave way to the 21st, it was hard to dispute that the definitive architect of the age was Frank Gehry, Canadian by birth, a resident of Los Angeles by choice.</p> <p class="inputText">He first drew notice in his adopted city with works deploying commonplace industrial materials in unexpected ways, but he came to international prominence with works which exploded the geometry of traditional architecture to create a dramatic new form of expression. He deployed cutting-edge computer technology to realize shapes and forms of hitherto unimaginable complexity, such as the startling irregularities of his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, or the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. In these monumental buildings, the uninhibited whimsy of his pencil sketches took shape in powerful structures of gleaming titanium.</p> <p class="inputText">From Switzerland to Japan, from Santa Monica to Prague, his buildings have transformed human expectations of the designed space. Once mocked for their astonishing originality, his buildings have become the signature structures of the challenging times we live in.</p> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane fade" id="interview" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <div class="col-md-12 interview-feature-video"> <figure> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/wTElCmNkkKc?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_25_07_08.Still027-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_25_07_08.Still027-760x428.jpg"></div> <div class="video-tag sans-4"> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> <div class="video-tag__text">Watch full interview</div> </div> </div> </figure> </div> <header class="col-md-12 text-xs-center m-b-2"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> </header> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <h2 class="serif-3 achiever--biography-subtitle">Building the Inspiring Space</h2> <div class="sans-2">Los Angeles, California</div> <div class="sans-2">September 27, 2016</div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8">   <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>You’re famous for achieving a sense of movement in architecture, with complex curving shapes. What led you to this concept? </strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/rqRA1jWEMEs?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_46_42_11.Still016-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_46_42_11.Still016-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>If you recall, Arthur Drexler did a big show of the past of great buildings, 19th century. He did a show at the Modern and it was stunning, and everybody at that time was sort of looking for an alternative to modernism, which was cold and inhuman, and they wondered how do we get out of this. And there Arthur presented them with the way out is to go back, and that was called postmodernism, and Philip did the AT&T — Philip Johnson. And then everybody jumped on it. And I remember being in a lecture somewhere or in a conference somewhere, and they were all talking about how wonderful the new architecture was and I objected. I said that the postmodern work came from Greek temples. Greek temples were anthropomorphic. And I said, “If you have to go back, you can go 300 million years before man to fish.”</p> <p>And I just said that. Because I was looking for a way to express movement with architecture, because I couldn’t do decoration that was postmodern. I was looking for something to replace the feeling in a building. And I think so much of that came from looking at the Greek statues. If you look at the Elgin Marbles, those warriors are pressing the shields into the stone, and you feel the pressure, and you feel the horses are moving, and if they could do that with inert materials, I thought, “Why not see if that could become an architectural direction that would enliven the buildings, humanize them, and create humanity?”</p> <p>Because very primitive is “the fold,” which there have been books written about it, Leibniz and people like that. Michelangelo spent years drawing the fold. And so you know the reason is when you’re a baby, you’re in your mother’s arms and you’re in the fold. And there’s something primitive, beautiful, and humanity about it. And I thought the Greeks knew how to express it. Can we do that in architecture?</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><figure id="attachment_39140" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-39140 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-fishlamps.jpg"></noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-39140 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1496" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-fishlamps.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-fishlamps-380x249.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-fishlamps-760x499.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-fishlamps.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><em>Fish Lamps</em> by Frank Gehry “draws upon the flowing and undulating movement of the water species, an aesthetic that often made an appearance in Gehry’s singular building designs.” (Matteo D’Eletto, Gagosian Gallery, Rome)</figcaption></figure><p>I then started to sketch fish. Then I went back to my roots of architecture, which was Japan and I looked at Hiroshige’s wood cuts, and the beautiful fish drawings and how they were very architectural and expressive. I started to look in the koi pond and realized that there was something there to look at, emulate, and try to play with. Formica asked me to do something and I made a fish lamp. That was the beginning of it because the Formica was translucent and we put a light behind it. It was beautiful. So, and that led to a fish lamp, which Gagosian Gallery took on for some reason at that time and sold a bunch of them, and it still represents us and fish lamps. So we’ve tried to take them somewhere and do other things with them, but it’s something that seems to continue.</p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/rFOhFV-QYzw?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_15_10_09.Still022-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_15_10_09.Still022-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/vision/">Vision</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I made a fish for a fashion show at the Pitti Palace. And the fashion show was a company that billed Valentino, and I forget the names, all the great fashion designers. And I made this wooden fish 35 feet long. And inside the fish was a mannequin dressed in a beautiful new garb sitting on a chair and you could see it through the eyeball. And then some mannequins standing beside. And it was embarrassing, because the wood was very kitsch. The tails were there. The eyes were there. I didn’t have much time because I had to do this mostly over drawings sent and stuff. I had Cinecittà make the fish, and it was very quick.</p> <p>When I saw the fish in — they took it to the — in Torino to the museum that started there. I can’t remember the name. But there’s an old castle. They turned it into a museum, and they had a show and they put that fish there along with some of my other models in a room. And I walked in and saw this kitsch piece of wood with — I mean it really was — I mean it was so embarrassing. I mean, “Oy oy oy!” And I remember standing beside it with the director of the museum at that time, a contemporary guy, a very famous guy — I forget his name — who was not a fan of my work, or he wasn’t into architecture. But I sort of represented maverick stuff. I remember standing beside him and I noticed that the fish moved. It seemed to move. And I didn’t say anything. He said to me, “Hey, can we have a drink?” Sure. I went down to the restaurant and had a drink. He said, “How’d you do that?”</p> <p>So the next thing I did was I did the show at Walker. I cut off the tail. I cut off the head. I got rid of the eyes and everything, made it as abstract as I could, and it still worked. You still felt a movement. So then I was able to take it into buildings. And that’s the history of that. And the only way I could build it — I couldn’t build it, because you couldn’t do it with descriptive geometry. The first attempts at it were kind of awkward and that was at Vitra. But through IBM they took me to Dassault, people that build airplanes in France, and their software, and I met with them in this office sitting here. We formed a kind of partnership and started working on using their software to define these buildings so they could be built. And Bilbao was the second building we tried it on. The first one was in Spain, this big fish sculpture where we were able to define multiple compound curves and build them.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><figure id="attachment_30486" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-30486 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-Neon-light-sculpture.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-30486 size-full lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="2090" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-Neon-light-sculpture.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-Neon-light-sculpture-380x348.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-Neon-light-sculpture-760x697.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-Neon-light-sculpture.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">In the 1990s, Gehry pioneered a second generation of “smart” digital design in architecture, by using software to optimize designs and translate them directly into a process of fabrication and construction. Gehry and his team turned to a program called CATIA, a software package developed by aerospace manufacturer Dassault Systems.</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Is it true that this software was originally developed for aeronautics?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: The software was developed for airplanes.</p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/hxJNmTPJoFM?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_17_37_17.Still020-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_17_37_17.Still020-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I didn’t know it could be done inexpensively. I thought, “This isn’t going to be slam dunk.” We tried it on Bilbao and we trained the subcontractors. I sent people over to Spain and they spent time with the subs. And Bilbao is — they’re the greatest people. They’re willing to do things and make things. If they believe in it, they’ll – click! — if you’re not trying to pull the wool over their eyes. If you’re straight about what you’re doing, it was… So they became complicit in — and we had six steel companies bidding on the steel structure and there were no two pieces of steel in the steel structure that were the same. The bids came in one percent spread. That means the documents they were bidding on were tight, because everybody got the same answer. And they were 18 percent under budget. Now normally, if you get a few bidders they’ll be within six, five percent, four percent, and one of them is under. You won’t take that because you know they did something wrong. When you have six bidders, one percent spread, and all of them are 18 percent under, you can pick anyone you want, which is what we did. And they lived up to it. So that was nirvana. That was eureka, the eureka moment, Archimedes.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/hD1Aq_Ardh0?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_15_44_14.Still024-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_15_44_14.Still024-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/integrity/">Integrity</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I went to Bilbao. I meet the people. They take me with Tom to the site. I look at it, think about it. We go to dinner. I felt very negative about the site, and I didn’t know how to express it or should I express it or should I say it. Should I talk to Tom about it first? And I delayed it, and anyway, I found myself at dinner sitting next to Tom [Krens] and having some drinks and everybody was happy and clink, clink, clink. And they asked me, “Mr. Gehry, what do you think of the site?” And I said without a blink, “It’s the wrong site.” I said, “The reason it’s the wrong site is that the wall — the 19th century wall which fits into the neighborhood perfectly— in order to build a museum like you want, you’d have to tear it down, and that would destroy the continuity of the neighborhood. I think it’s a beautiful relic. You shouldn’t tear it down. You can find other uses for that site that are more communal with that wall, can work with it.” And I was sitting there as I was talking, thinking when is he going to kick me, and he never did. So it went over like a clunk, right? There was this sort of clunk. Gehry came in. Clunk. But they were nice. They took us up on the hill overlooking the city. We had a few more drinks. Everybody was sort of, “So okay, if you don’t like that site, where would you put it?” By then I had a pretty good feeling from <em>Patxaran</em> and whatever they poured down my throat. I said, “I saw this bridge, and I saw this site with the brick factory and it looked derelict.” I don’t know what got in me. I said, “There.” And I don’t usually do things like that. In another circumstance I would have taken more time and said, “Let’s study this one, let’s study this one.” I brazenly said, “There.”</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><p>Right at the bend, right by the bridge. And you could see from the hill looking down that there was a straight-line view to City Hall across the river. I don’t know how much of this I really was aware of when I said it. And they said, “Well, that site can be acquired. It’s a derelict factory and the city would have to try to buy it. It’s probably expensive.” You know, they made up all these excuses. And Krens supported me and said, “If we could do that one, that’s one of the best sites.” And he said that he had been running along there in the mornings and picked that site as well. And apparently the people that he ran with said, “Yes, he did.” So he wasn’t making it up.</p> <figure id="attachment_39144" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-39144 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/bilbao2_382240684.jpg"></noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-39144 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1520" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/bilbao2_382240684.jpg 2280w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/bilbao2_382240684-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20180622103947im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/bilbao2_382240684-760x507.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/bilbao2_382240684.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The modern and contemporary art museum, completed in 1997, was built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Cantabrian Sea and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists. Bilbao is one of the largest museums in Spain.</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Did you already have an image in your mind of what you wanted Bilbao to be?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I did not. Because I had been talking to Tom I knew that he had his eyes on a [Dan] Flavin piece that was 400 feet long that Panza owned. I saw it in action at Count Panza’s villa or wherever he had it. When you turned it on, the lights went on and it was like static. It was like static. It was like gunfire. It went tick-tick-tick and went on for about ten minutes as it lit up across the room. It was quite beautiful.</p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/zN4M-StZ8_4?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_18_22_17.Still019-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_18_22_17.Still019-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Dan Flavin wasn’t really known for kinetic work. His stuff was beautiful but mostly it was fixed. It was about perception, perceptual relationships. And this was like a gunfire and lights. It was quite beautiful. And so that meant we had to have a 400-foot-long something. So that’s why that big long building. Tom talked to me about — I think he was able to talk to everybody, so he had a meeting with all the contestants and told us what he was dreaming of and thinking about. In my case I think they were different. He tailored it to what he thought each person was doing. In my case he said that if I want the galleries to be more sculptural, less rectilinear and traditional, that he would support that for living artists. He said, for the artists who are no longer with us, “I would like you to think of a more traditional gallery. But they don’t have to look like everyone else. You can turn them into something that you can do with them.” So that’s the plan of it. I brought to it the inclusiveness with the city so that as you walk from gallery to gallery, you’re always looking out at the city. And when you get to the center, you’re like in a space that’s part of the city. And that’s because of going to the Met so many times and being sort of claustrophobic and spending four hours going from gallery to gallery with no relief. The work was incredible. I came out drenched. I didn’t want to go to sleep. It was hard to. So I felt like in Bilbao that there is some visual virtue in the city, the hills around the bridge, and I assumed that they would clean it all up eventually, which they did. And it would be a big asset for the viewing of art. So that’s what led to the building.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>People talk about the Bilbao effect. The name of Bilbao is now synonymous with your building.</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: They asked for that.</p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/7uSd1TyE79k?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_15_53_19.Still025-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_15_53_19.Still025-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/courage/">Courage</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I had my first official meeting with the city when we were selected. They asked me if I could do the equivalent of the Sydney Opera House because they said — this was the Minister of Commerce, Jon Azúa, who’s still there — they needed this to be a generator, a commercial generator to bring people. What do you say to that? You say, “I’ll do my best, but it’s not a slam dunk. I don’t know if I can do it. I haven’t done it before but maybe.” When the building was being built, the city was skeptical, and there was one article in the paper, “Kill the American Architect.” That made me nervous. The separatist thing was going on and they didn’t like the idea of somebody coming in from Mars, and they didn’t understand what I was doing. This jumble of metal — ick! “What are you doing?” It’s only after they saw it, then everything clicked. I could live there for the rest of my life for free. If anybody sees me — I was in India somewhere in a plaza and some lady saw me. There was a group of tourists from Bilbao. I didn’t know they were over there. And she saw me, and she said, “Gehry, Gehry!” And they all came running and I was like the Pied Piper. I think it — obviously it worked. And I’m happy it worked. I don’t know why it worked. It’s a magic trick, I think. I did my best and that’s what came out. Since it’s opened, it’s earned close to four billion euros for a city, which changed the politics, it changed — there’s no more separatist. Whatever is left is very insignificant now. There’s a big smile on the community. The building brings in people.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p>The shows are uneven, but they’ve gotten better. Tom is no longer director. So Juan Ignacio kind of took over and he’s not an art guy, but he’s a quick learner and he’s very respectful of me and the art. So they’re all family now. On my 85th birthday Berta, my wife, wanted to do something for me. I said, “You know, I’d love to go to Bilbao and spend three or four days with the half a dozen friends that we’re close to and just hang out with them.” So I called Juan Ignacio. I said, “Do you think we could do something really quiet?” “Oh, yes. Don’t worry about it.” Guess what he did. A 250 sit-down dinner! Daniel Barenboim came from Berlin and played the piano for me, and they had people on television like Norman Foster and Herzog and Claes Oldenburg. So I feel loved there.</p> <p><strong>There’s been kind of a Bilbao effect in downtown Los Angeles with Disney Hall that I don’t think anyone could have anticipated. Weren’t there years when you didn’t think it would ever be built?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/KbhR6Tz-ttg?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_27_00_18.Still029-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_27_00_18.Still029-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/perseverance/">Perseverance</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>When you do a public building that has a board and people on it, there’s always somebody on the board that’s a builder that knows how to do everything better than the architect. So you have to go through all of that. I mean when I first showed the model, they brought a contractor who was the biggest contractor in L.A., and I finished my presentation and the board clapped. They loved the drawings and everything. They turned to him and said, “What do you think?” And he said, in my office with me present, “It’s beautiful but it can’t be built.” Well, it’s there and he’s not.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622103947if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/GuXqJMF22eQ?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_14_39_17.Still014-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/07/gehry-frank-2016-MasterEdit.00_14_39_17.Still014-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/integrity/">Integrity</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I think you got to come with reality. You know, when you’re thinking like this, when you’re having — you got to make sure it’s right and it can be built. You got to make sure it’s budget conscious. I mean nobody knows this about Disney Hall, it cost $207 million. Period. That was the budget and we made it. When they talk about it, they add all the other costs that they screwed up in there over the years that it was mismanaged by people that the Philharmonic trusted. So, but the real budget was 207. And so I’m very budget conscious. That means a lot to me, to be able to look a client straight in the face and say, “Here’s what you asked me for. Here’s the money you told me you had. And here’s what it looks like.” Now in the period of design, they can add to it, I mean, or subtract and say, “No, I want it higher,” and that costs 20 million more, and you say, “Okay. Are you willing to do that?” That’s what happened in Australia. The building had X budget. I think it was $80 million. And it was a box. And I was getting excited about making it, and they said they needed a height, a high rater, and blah, blah, blah. And so that was a 20 million extra. We made models, showed it. They showed it to a donor. He gave them 30 million extra to build it that way and it’s built. That satisfied the needs of the client, but at least it was done respectfully in the process, and I really rely on that process so that we go through it, come out the other end and we’re still friends. And 98 percent of my clients and I are still friends. We talk to each other and trust each other. And so Bilbao was right on budget.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p>You can do it. It can be done if the budgets are real, and the expectations are set, real, and they’re explained along the way, that if you want a marble kitchen top, that costs $50 more. Well, okay, it’s your choice, but you don’t have to do it. I don’t have a gun at your back to say you got to have that marble. I don’t know how many architects practice like I do. I’ve always assumed they did, but the clients tell me they don’t, that we’re kind of unique that way.</p> </div>    <aside class="collapse" id="full-interview">    <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>What first made you think of being an architect? What attracted you to this field?</b></span></p> <p>Frank Gehry: My grandmother played with me on the floor with blocks when I was eight years old in Canada, and she got cuttings for her wood stove from the shop. They were like bandsaw and jigsaw cuttings, and they were odd shapes, and we used to play, make fantasy cities. Grandmother! So it was like a license from an adult to play, creative play. Anyway, I didn’t remember that until I was struggling and struggling with what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was a truck driver in L.A., going to City College, and I tried radio announcing, which I wasn’t very good at.</p> <p>I tried chemical engineering, which I wasn’t very good at and didn’t like, and then I remembered. You know, somehow I just started racking my brain about, “What do I like?” Where was I? What made me excited? And I remembered art, that I loved going to museums and I loved looking at paintings, loved listening to music. Those things came from my mother, who took me to concerts and museums. I remembered Grandma and the blocks.</p> <p><strong>And then what happened?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Just on a hunch, I tried some architecture classes. At first I didn’t do great. In fact, I flunked the first class in perspective drawing, and it really got me angry. So I went back the next semester and took it and got an A, and then I had an architecture drafting class, which the teacher and I got along real well. He was an architect. At the same time, I was taking classes at USC, summer classes in ceramics and art, drawing, art design, and the ceramics teacher — Glen Lukens at the time — was having a house designed by Raphael Soriano, and Glen somehow looked at me and said, “I just have another hunch.” He said, “I would like you to meet Soriano,” and I did, and I watched how Soriano — a guy with a black suit and a black tie and a beret, you know — I mean, he was a really funny guy. But there was something about it that excited me, maybe the drama of it, maybe the theater of it, and he knew what he was doing. He was very Miesian. He did very stark things, and that all excited me. Based on Glen’s recommendation, I took a class at night in architectural design, and I did really well. I was skipped into second year.</p> <p><strong>What school was this?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: USC. That was the only architecture school at that time. I couldn’t afford it, and they didn’t have scholarships for architects, but somehow I worked and got through. Then once I got in it, I was off to the races, except the first half of the second year, my teacher came in and called me in and said, “This isn’t for you. You’re not going to make it,” and somehow I worked through that. And that guy works at the airport. I see him every once in a while, the teacher. I mean, he acknowledges his mistake, of course, but it’s — I mean, I just sort of kept going. It was dogged persistence once I got into it.</p> <p><strong>What was the turn-on for you? How would you describe it to somebody who doesn’t know that much about architecture? What makes it exciting for you?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: What got me excited in the beginning were the social issues. I come from a very lefty liberal family in Canada, and architecture looked like it was the panacea. You could make housing for the poor and make wonderful cities, city planning in the future and so on. That was the initial turn-on. That lasted me all the way through school, actually.</p> <p>When I got out of school I hit the brick wall. You can’t do any of that. It doesn’t exist. You can’t do it. There are no clients for social housing in America. There is no program, no nothing. City planning? Forget it. It’s a kind of bureaucratic nonsense. It has nothing to do with ideas. It only has to do with real estate and politics.</p> <p>I used to say, “I don’t want to do houses for rich people.” I always said that through school. “I’m just not going to do that.” But I started to find some excitement in the forms, the spaces, being able to conceive of something and then see it built. The process of building, the working with the craftsmen — or lack of craftsmen is more likely — but trying to. It is an energy, and it is a mind game too, trying to get these people motivated. I guess it’s like directing a movie. It’s similar, except there’s legal implications times jillions. But it’s really exciting when you get to the level I am at now, where I have a lot of freedom. I don’t get a lot of projects, but I get enough, and when I do get them, usually people want what I am doing and egg me on to explore things, and that’s exciting.</p> <p><strong>To make a difference in the world?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Make a difference in a microcosm, but in the world, we don’t know yet.</p> <p><strong>You say you hit a brick wall when you got out of school. When did that change? What was the turning point?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I guess when I did my house. Up until the point where I did my house, which was in the late ’70s, most of the work — up until that point I think, I thought of myself as an architect, as a service business. I was working on Santa Monica Place. But I hadn’t had much freedom to really do things, and for the first time — even though it wasn’t a lot of money, we only had a budget of like forty, fifty thousand dollars — I was able to do what I wanted, exactly what I wanted, and explore and play and do things, and I realized that I couldn’t go back after that. My office changed at that point. The clients that we were working with all left. The house, I finished it. One of the major clients said to me — the first Santa Monica Place — said, “If you like this…” He was sitting in my living room. He said, “If you like this, then you don’t like that.” He was pointing to Santa Monica Place, and I said, “Yeah, you’re right,” and we shook hands and decided not to work together anymore, and we never have. That was the Rouse Company in Maryland. I liked them too, but it wasn’t going anywhere.</p> <p><strong>You have to be a big risk-taker, don’t you?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Yeah. It’s not about making money. I think you stick your neck out a lot, but over time, you feel more confident. My house was strange. I mean some of the things I did, like the chain-link fence. It wasn’t about what people thought it was about. The chain-link fence, so much of that material is made and used and absorbed by the culture, and there is so much denial about it. I was fascinated by the denial, and I was trying to humanize it, so that if you are going to use it, at least use it, find some way to use it right or aesthetically more pleasing. Well, that backfired on me. Everybody thought I was making some kind of great “stick in the ribs” kind of thing about it. Also, the house was me trying to find my middle class self in a middle class neighborhood. How do I relate to this? I guess I am here. I am with them. They have their cars on the front lawn. They have chain link. They have corrugated metal. They have all these things, and how am I going to? So I dealt with it, but when I dealt with it, it was like the neighbors thought I was making fun of them, which I wasn’t.</p> <p><strong>Your house created quite a stir.</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: It did, yeah.</p> <p><strong>Is it true that there was a gunshot in the picture?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Well, the police chief said it was architectural criticism. I heard two gunshots, but later he said it was some neighborhood stuff, and it was happening all over the neighborhood.</p> <p><strong>What was it that provoked this kind of reaction? Could you tell us a little more about what you did with your house?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I bought an old house, and I put a new house around it. I got interested in the dialogue between the old and the new and trying to sculpturally create a new entity, but that retained the qualities of the new as independent of the old. I set myself goals like that when I started. I kind of pulled it off. I also wanted it to be seamless, that you couldn’t tell where it began and where it stopped, and that was very successful, and that was the power of it. In fact, critics would come in and would look at a rain spot on the plaster and say, “Is that on purpose or not?” They thought they were maligning me, and I thought that was just wonderful. That was exactly what I wanted them to worry about.</p> <p>Recently, I had to remodel it again, because my kids are grown up, and we needed to. Now it’s ten years later, and I couldn’t be me as I was then. I couldn’t tear the house down and start over again, which artistically would have been the right thing to do. I couldn’t sell it, because it wasn’t saleable. So I had to fix it, and once I started, it was like unraveling a sweater. What you see, if you go there now, is not seamless. You can see the old house and you can see the new house. I couldn’t hang onto it. I realized I was losing it. In fact, I had a dream. I was hanging onto some parts of what I did in ’78 for dear life, and I realized they weren’t working with the new stuff. Some of this, because it was my house, I played out as we went. I don’t do that often, but in this case, I did some of that.</p> <p>I had a nightmare that a helicopter crashed into a Zeppelin, and the helicopter had a woman in a pink dress — and my house is pink, pink outside — flat against the hull — and she came crashing down on me in the street, and I pulled my mother to safety. I realized when I woke up, that it was about my house, that I was losing it. It made me resolve that I could go forward somehow. I don’t know why, it’s kind of mystical. But I did. I cut out all the stuff that I was hanging onto, and after that, I slept. It was wonderful. Something was going on. It was a panic of losing something that I had really worked on, and now it’s becoming something else, but it’s not as good as it was. It’s not. I know it isn’t — yet. It will be, I hope.</p> <p><strong>You’ve said in an interview that you admired the idea of a kind of an opening gesture that an artist like Jasper Johns would make, and that you sought to do this in architecture. Who were the artists that influenced your work?</strong></p> <p>I was looking for the moment of truth, so to speak. What do you do if you’re faced with a white canvas? You’ve thought about it, but what is the gesture and where does it come from? I kind of got it in my head that that was the moment of truth, when you’re facing yourself and what you’re going to make. I realized that in architecture, even though it took a long time to get to that moment of truth — that we had to investigate site, we had to investigate programming, we had to investigate budget, building department codes, community relations, all those things — but ultimately you sat down with a bunch of sticks and stones and models and paper and drawing and there was the same moment of truth of, “What do you do?” It’s trusting that that was interesting to me, that the artist did that.</p> <p>I forget the story of Jasper [Johns] and the beer cans. But he was trusting a moment in his life where that was funny, and he just put them together and did it and it became a signature piece. I spent time with Rauschenberg a lot during the combine period. I think just around the combine period. He had a big influence on me because he was very free and not full of philosophy and why I’m doing this and that. Some of the artists had this anchor of having to be — relate sometimes to Hegel and Kant and Nietzsche. It was sort of baggage that they brought to the table that was irrelevant. I mean it was in their head and it was relevant, but it was irrelevant to this moment of truth. So I found the artists that were kind of “dumb smart,” that were really smart but didn’t parade it, that were willing to take the risks and stuff.</p> <p>In L.A., when I started doing my architecture, the first few buildings, like the Danziger building, got a lot of criticism from the guys I grew up with in architecture, without naming them. I mean they were friends. The ones who are alive are still my friends. But they didn’t understand what I was doing, and it was just a little box, so I couldn’t understand why there was so much feeling about it. I didn’t know how to talk to them about it. I couldn’t get that kind of rap that justified one thing or another. And the artists were making things. It was more hands-on. Larry Bell was working with glass, and I spent a lot of time in his studio with him, talking to him. And he would take breaks on the guitar and sing. He’d make up funny songs. And Billy Al [Bengston] was doing some slick paintings. There was no off-putting discussion. I mean it was pure. I liked being with them and I liked emulating them. If felt right for me.</p> <p><strong>You’ve collaborated a number of times with the artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. They made the famous giant binoculars that are part of the Chiat Day building you designed in Venice, California. How did that come about?</strong></p> <p>I was doing Jay Chiat’s building in Venice and there was a centerpiece that I was working on. I was trying to make it a three-piece kind of façade. And the centerpiece was elusive for me. And I was at lunch in the office with Jay here. There’s Jay up there. He was here — real. And we had a few drinks and he kept saying, “Come on, what’s the centerpiece going to look like? What’s it going to look like? Come on, Frank. Hurry. I can’t wait. What’s it going to look like?” And from the student thing where we did buildings in the lagoon in Venice, there was a little model of binoculars that were this high and red. And I just picked it up and put it there, and he said, “Wow, that’s great! Can we do that?” And I said, “Well, that’s Oldenburg. I can’t tell him what to do. I can’t call Claes and say —” He said, “Call him!” So I called them and they were a little hesitant, and of course they wanted to see more about it. Anyway, the long story short, they did it. They designed it. I told them they had to put windows in it so it was going to be architecture, not art. And it’s still there. And Google has the building now.</p> <p>I think the issue though is, “Is architecture an art?” Now in the Renaissance it was an art. Giotto became an architect and Michelangelo became an architect. All those great guys became architects. So that was a normal thing. Somehow in our times it’s become a functional object that we have an AIA, we have organizations. It’s become very businesslike, and is antithetical to being a work of art. I think since I had my epiphany about the moment of truth and all that being the same, I’ve tried to keep it on the plane as art. Even though some of the artists are upset about that or have said publicly I’m a plumber — Richard Serra, for example. I think that’s what’s kind of been missing in the profession, is that sense of responsibility to that ethos or whatever it is, that you have a responsibility to make a beautiful building.</p> <p>It’s become critical now because the prizes given to architects now, a lot of them are given for social responsibility or for sustainability issues. I think most of the architects I know, including myself, have always had a sense of social responsibility. My house, which was ‘78, I put a skylight in the top, and on a hot day I push a button, it’s opened, it ventilates, and in 15 minutes the whole house is cool. The Indians did that in teepees. So I think we don’t need to be LEEDs and all that stuff, and we don’t need to be lectured on social responsibility. I think we are by nature. I think that’s pretty much the feeling in the profession. I’ve been teaching a lot, and the kids come into school with that, absolutely with that intent that they’re going to be doing good things for the world.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Gehry, that chair that you’re sitting in is quite interesting. Is there something that you can tell us about that?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: The nice thing is you can just pick a piece off and throw it away if you don’t like it. I had made some chairs earlier, and they were shown at Bloomingdale’s. I made them out of paper. They achieved some kind of commercial success and it scared me, so I stopped them, because I wasn’t ready to be a successful furniture designer. I still wanted to be an architect. Somehow I thought that was going to end my life, so I stopped them, and I started making chairs that I thought nobody would like, and that’s what these are.</p> <p><strong>What are those made out of? Is that cardboard?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: It’s paper. It’s a honeycomb paper that is made as an in-fill between two pieces of metal or wood, as a structural panel.</p> <p><strong>How do you get your ideas? Where do you find your inspiration when you’re designing a building?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: For me it’s a free association, but it grows out of a sense of responsibility, sense of values, human values. The importance of relating to the community, and all of those things…and the client’s budget, their pocketbook, the client’s wishes. But even within that there’s a…</p> <p>There is a range of creativity possible, and I think it behooves us to explore that envelope and push at it. It comes out of an intuition, or a learned intuition, I guess. You study a long time ’til you can do it. But it’s from looking around you, it’s from understanding what’s happening in the culture, what’s happening in the world. It’s a really big picture. Because there are no real rules. If you look at the world around us, and you think of all these adult and intelligent people who have gathered together over the years to create the biggest mess. It always looks like that, whatever period. It looked like that when I was a kid, it looks like that now. And yet, somehow we muddle forward and make things. So out of that comes inspiration, believe it or not, and leads to ideas. For instance, I’ve been interested in the sense of movement in architecture. Well, who cares whether a building looks like it’s moving or not? Maybe they shouldn’t, but that’s something that interested me. Maybe it comes from the fast society, the fast world around me, that I’m trying to make some kind of connection to. So I think you’ve just got to keep your eyes open, keep your ears open and understand what’s going on. And then play with it, and move with it, and make your expression grow from that.</p> <p><strong>Your designs are considered unconventional and innovative. How did you find these forms?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Slowly, by doing the things I’ve already said, not the least of which is studying history. You develop a base of information. You look at what’s around you, you take things in, you absorb. I think the most important thing is the people, finally, it’s a human thing. It’s how you interact with people and how you interpret their wishes and yearnings. It’s intuitive. It’s very difficult to explain why you do things, why you curve something. It becomes an evolution of thought and ideas. I feel like the picture of the cat pushing the ball of string. You just keep pushing it and it moves around. Then it falls off the table and creates this beautiful line in space.</p> <p>I think creativity… I guess Henry James wrote that it was like poking around in a deep well with a big stick, and every once in a while you would pull this stick out and something was there. These ideas are not easy to describe. They’re easy to rationalize after the fact, like the sense of movement is easy to rationalize, or certain materials, or certain constructs, and shapes, and forms. But basically, I am trying to make buildings and spaces that will inspire people, that will move people, that will get a reaction. Not just to get a reaction, but to get a positive reaction, hopefully, a place that they like to be in. My greatest thrill is to still be friends with the clients and people that helped me make these buildings.</p> <p><strong>Do you think that society curtails individual imagination? And if so, why?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I don’t think it does. I think it’s wide open. You curtail your own imagination if you do it. Certainly there are constraints: budgets and politics and sites. Gravity is a constraint, finally. But those are, to any artist, manageable.</p> <p>Every artist confronts a series of issues that are constraints. Those constraints are then turned by the artist into a positive force, to make something, make their mud pie, whatever it is. I think we learn to do that. I had a house recently with no constraints, and I had a horrible time with it. I had to look in the mirror a lot. Who am I? Why am I doing this? What is this all about? What is the social relevance of this? There was none. Finally, the owner gave me a quote from Oscar Wilde. I can’t remember the quote, but it was in essence that everything didn’t have to be relevant, that you could make a folly, and that there was some value in that. I lived on that for a while and made the so-called folly, which he’s not going to build anyway. I think we turn those constraints into action.</p> <p><strong>You’ve spoken about what you hoped to express in a given building, a feeling of movement for instance, but how do you reconcile that with the fact that people also need to use those buildings?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: They wouldn’t get built if they didn’t respond to the programs. In one case it’s the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Another is in Toledo, Ohio, it’s an art school. All of these buildings have very strict functional programs that have to be honored, and met and explored. I look at these programs, and many times question them, and try to present the clients with opportunities they haven’t thought of. That involves them in the process. So at the end, a building is a product of working with the client.</p> <p>One is in Czechoslovakia, Prague, on the beautiful river. It’s adjacent to a 19th century building. Even though it has its own body language, it fits very well into the form of the city. I think the function is like the budget, you have to respect it, honor it and deal with it. And if you disagree with it, don’t do it.</p> <p><strong>Has working in other cultures influenced you in your architecture?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I’m very concerned with that issue today [1995] in Seoul, Korea. I’m doing a museum on a very tight urban site, surrounded by half a dozen of the worst high-rise towers I’ve ever seen, the worst copies of American commercial architecture. But on the diagonals, the site looks at the mountains and looks at some shrines and temples. One of the shrines, Jongmyo, which I’d never heard of, has got to be at least in the top ten buildings ever built on this earth, and not many people know about it. It’s an extraordinary building, and it’s within view of my site, just like these others.</p> <p>How do you fit in contextually? Even though the bad buildings are there, they’re built, they’re by human beings, there has to be a certain accommodation to them. You can’t ignore them. So this is kind of an American image transplanted, and yet there is this landscape and these beautiful shrines. How to make these connections? And sitting right next to my site is a palace, a one-story Korean palace. And a 19th century two-story building. It’s not very good, but it’s protected building. All of these elements, I’m trying to gather them into my head and use them in some way. And then this building, as a museum, it has a function, it has galleries, and will show international art, so it has an international requirement. Then you get into all the requirements of showing art in galleries and so on.</p> <p>In the end, the historic elements of the culture, the strengths of Korea, at this point I think have to do with gardens and landscapes, because most of their buildings were torn down by invaders over the years. How to recapture, how to understand, culturally, the needs of this community that needs to find a pride in art again, because it was destroyed for them. They’re trying to search for that. So I’m looking at all of those things for this building. Will I succeed? I don’t know, but I have to be interpretive, I have to bring all of those elements in: the history, the current, the present, the chaos.</p> <p><strong>How soon might we see that building?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Well, I’m presenting it in a couple of weeks. If they like it, we might see it. But if they don’t, we won’t.</p> <p><strong>Have new technologies and computers affected your work, and how?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I try very hard to get the energy of the idea, the first idea, the drawing, and that character to the finished building. And I hate all the computer images that I’ve been confronted with, from the beginning until today. However, since I’ve gotten involved with buildings that have shape to them, that are very difficult to describe to a contractor, to a builder, I’ve made a relationship by some circuitous route, through IBM, to the people in France that make the Mirage airplane, Dassault. And they have a software, or a program, CATIA, for making airplanes, that allowed us to describe steel structures and curved structures in a way that demystified them for the builder, so that they weren’t afraid and didn’t superimpose fear costs on the project. We’ve been very successful in that, and I think it’s turned the tide. In other words, most architects and contractors are in mortal battle from the day they start. The contractor is scared of the costs and losing money, and the architect is pushing to get his or her dream to fruition, and they’re in conflict. And I found, through this funny gadget, that the architect can become the master builder, can become the leader, can direct the project, and the contractor likes it. They would rather be the child in the equation than the parent. They’d rather have the conceiver take a parental role. So it’s through this technology that I’ve found, in the few projects now, that it’s been very possible to change that relationship, in a positive way, for everybody.</p> <p><strong>Does working with computers make a difference in terms of two-dimensional and three-dimensional thinking?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I don’t like the computer, except as a gadget to explain myself to the contractors. But I did, in the course of working with it, get into trying to design on it, even though I hate the imagery. I likened it to putting my hand in the fire and seeing how long you could keep it in there before I pulled it out. So I would sit at the thing. It took about three minutes to four minutes before the fire got too hot and I’ll pull it out.</p> <p>But in doing that, I did design a form that I never had before. It looked like a prehistoric horse’s skull. It was interesting. I think it is possible. I think it’s just a training thing, if you’re aware that you’re putting your hand in the fire for a few minutes…</p> <p><strong>What can you predict about the future of architecture?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I hang on to democracy, sort of, even though it’s not perfectly practiced, that this has changed the game a lot. And you see a lot of architects, a lot of ideas being more accepted. There are more all-star architects today than there were when I was a kid. There are many different kinds of work, signatures in work, and we do co-exist. I like Bob Stern’s work a lot. So we can be different, we can co-exist. We’re going to have to find ways to make cities that express that. They can’t be the historical, idyllic 19th century model anymore, because we’re not living like that anymore, and our world isn’t like that. We’re finding ways to move forward, while learning from the past. You don’t ignore it, you don’t destroy it, but you build from it. I think pluralism is the most optimistic. There are now many ideas, many possibilities. How do you bring that together into a new city form?</p> <p><strong>What role do you see yourself playing in that?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: You just do your work, and if somebody likes it, they like it, and if they don’t, you don’t try to sell them on it. I think that most of the world wants to live in the past, and I think it is going to catch up with us at some point, and I don’t know when that’s going to happen. Maybe it’s my fantasy. Maybe I want it to happen because I’m tired of it. I think we should start living in the present in trying to deal with it. It seems like it would be much more positive.</p> <p>I think the blurring of the lines between art and architecture has got to happen. I don’t think these categories are working very well. I am finding the crossover much more exhilarating and much more interesting, and the collaboration much more interesting. In architecture, I don’t think you can build Rockefeller Center today. It represents a different politic, a different ethic, a different idea.</p> <p><strong>The grand monument kind of thing?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: It just represents the power of the Rockefellers, and I see it breaking down and becoming much more pluralistic, which leads me to collaboration. I think that our politics suggest that many ideas could coexist, and the richness of ideas coexisting interests me, and it’s led me to collaborating with other architects, with other artists, and I find that exhilarating and very fruitful. Things happen. I just collaborated with Philip Johnson and Claes Oldenburg and his wife and Richard Serra and Larry Bell.</p> <p><strong>On what project?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: On a house, which the guy isn’t building.</p> <p><strong>He’s not building it after all that?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: No. No. It’s very painful when these things happen, but when you do houses, you are dealing with emotion at some kind of high pitch. So I never expect much, but this one got pretty good. It was like a chess game. I had the biggest piece of it. It was my project. I brought them all in, and Philip had a little guest house, and he made his move on the guest house, and then I would play against him. It was like a chess game, and he is so brilliant, this guy! He could preempt my trajectory. He would get me just before I made the move. And then Claes had done stuff before that had seeped into my head through the binoculars and stuff like that. So some of the shapes, after the fact, I could recognize were coming from way back somewhere. Those shapes turned on Richard Serra to do a new kind of piece, which came out of the house. So there was this play happening. When you see the whole package, you can see the energy. If it was built, it would be really clear. We all can feel it. We can see it, and that’s kept us going. That’s pretty exciting. That’s really taking the best people you can get and upping the ante a lot.</p> <p><strong>There’s a sort of stereotype image of the architect as an autocratic egomaniac that we see in movies and in novels like <em>The Fountainhead</em>. You seem like the antithesis of that.</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Yeah.</p> <p><strong>In the real world, what personal characteristics do you think a person needs to be an architect?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Well, I think there are all kinds of architects. So one of the problems is the schools supposedly create architects like me. That’s the whole thrust, and not many people can do it. I think the educational thing has to change a bit, so that you allow different kinds of architects to evolve, because when you get in practice, you need all these different skills. It’s not something you can do yourself. I think that having an open mind about collaboration with people is important. If you are the Lone Ranger, it’s a little bit harder, I think. I think that the iconoclast that you suggest, <em>The Fountainhead</em>, is hard to exist in the context of our politics now, in our world. There are a few people that try it and get away with it, but the people that do it, I don’t see them producing what the guys who used to do it did. So it’s a pose. It’s not real.</p> <p><strong>You have to be a collaborator, don’t you?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I think you do. I think you have to be a collaborator on lots of levels. You have to be willing to be a leader in the collaboration. You have to be able to work with the clients and inspire them to more than they — I mean, usually when they come to me, they are ready. They want to do something special. Even the Disney Hall thing, they carved out a real free path for me. Even today with all the troubles, they’re not really hitting at the design as the flaw. I’m 66, so you get to a point where you get some powers and some credibility — it took a long time — with certain people. It’s not with everybody. The U.S. Government won’t hire me. They laugh.</p> <p><strong>It sounds like patience is important too.</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Patience, yeah. But hanging on, being relentless, just never giving up, I guess that’s patience, and having a vision. You’ve got to know where you want to go with it, and how to explain it.</p> <p>I used to think that the explanation robbed the essence out of the thing. It was sort of, “I didn’t want to take this.” There is a feeling of that in the art world or in architecture, but I discovered that the more I could explain myself, the better it was in terms of the relationship with the other people, and that even when I became very intuitive and I didn’t know exactly where I was going, I could analyze it for somebody and tell them what I thought I was doing and where I thought I was doing it and how it fit into the history of my work. So I think in my case, I find the clients very important to the equation.</p> <p><strong>Do you think failure and disappointment are critical components of the creative process? You have had ups and downs, as successful as you are.</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I also create crises myself. As I’m working, I’ll get finished and feel very satisfied about the direction something’s going. And then a day later I find, in my head, I figure out some kind of missing link — something I wasn’t aware of — that unnerves me. Then it blows it all up in my mind, and I come in in a very bad mood and don’t know what to do. And I pull the team around. I have a lot of talent here in the club, so to speak, and I get a lot of support from them. So that’s been helpful. But I think it’s healthy to question. Usually it turns out better after I go through this thing. You start on a track with the beginnings of an idea, and then I’m searching for how to manifest it and I try a lot of things. Sometimes things look like I’ve seen them before, or they feel lacking in importance or integrity or whatever stuff, whatever yardsticks I have in my head that I keep applying. And they change too.</p> <p>Doing the Facebook stuff has changed a lot of thinking about an office environment that I think will be emulated. I think people are starting to look at what we’re doing because it’s freer. It’s like what my office is out here. Zuckerberg came here, saw this office, and said, “I want that.”</p> <p>I’m more critical than any of you guys could be. But the thing I don’t like is the cliché critic thing that — the latest one was on Bilbao. They had a list of all the great buildings of the century and Bilbao’s there and there’s a little thing. And it says, “It’s a great building. Of course it’s messy and of course it’s wasteful of materials and egregiously over-spatial.” It said something very negative, and the person that wrote it, I called the editor and I said, “Prove it. I challenge you to prove it.”</p> <p>That’s the kind of stuff that <em>The New York Times</em> gal does that, all the time. I think there’s a snarky reporting — which you’re aware of, I’m sure — that is not appreciated. That doesn’t do anybody any good. I mean we can be critical. I like to hear people’s criticism if it’s not snarky, if it’s not based on some kind of — I don’t know what — feeling that’s <em>pro forma</em>. Frank Gehry did the building, therefore it’s got to be wasteful. Therefore it’s got to be expensive.</p> <p>I’ve tried this in a lecture with business people. I started the lecture, and I said, “Before I lecture, I’d like to ask the audience how many people here think my buildings are expensive,” and everybody puts up their hand. “How many people here think I’m a prima donna?” Everybody puts their hand up. Well, both things are not true. So there is that kind of assumption that if somebody does something that’s free with that, they must be a prima donna, they must be expensive. So if critics did their homework, then we could have a real discussion. They could disagree with the forms and the character, the space, or the direction I took, but get the other facts right.</p> <p><strong>Can you tell us a little bit about what students should be thinking about, if they’re interested in going into architecture. Should they be doing a lot of math courses?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: I think there are a lot of ways to be an architect, and math is certainly an important part of it. But there are a lot of different areas in architecture, and the schools have a tendency to develop a certain kind architect — trying to make the stars. But all of us need a lot of help from a lot of different kinds of people. First of all, you have to love architecture. If you love it more than anything and you want to be part of it, then you find your particular niche or your way of dealing with it. It may not be the same way I deal with it, it may be working with research in planning and housing. It may develop into materials research. It may be in graphics as it applies to architecture. It may be in the presentation of architecture. There are so many parts I can enumerate, but I think it’s a broader field.</p> <p><strong>I suppose you can’t be thinking about being an artist and also thinking maybe you’d like to be a lawyer, or a doctor, or something as well. You’ve got to be committed.</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: A nine-year-old kid came to my office the other day. He was doing a paper for his class on architecture. And he said, “How do you know when you want to be something, like an architect? How will I know?” And I said, “What’s your favorite thing?” This just popped out of me. “What is your favorite thing that you do?” And he said, “I love the sleepovers at my house when I can stay up late with my friends.” And I said, “Okay. When you love architecture more than that, then you’ll know it’s the right thing.”</p> <p><strong>You make it all sound pretty daunting.</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: It’s an awesome thing to come out and look for a way to make a living, and to get into the world. It looks awesome, and it’s huge, and some of us do things now that make us look so smart, like we’ve conquered it. But it just takes baby steps. You start a little bit at a time, and it grows, and you can do it. We’re just normal human beings, and we did it, so you can do it.</p> <p><strong>You came to this country from Canada, and I wondered what kind of image you get when you think of the American Dream.</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: It’s the same as the Canadian Dream, I think. The American Dream is about freedom, free expression, melting pot, ideas, exchange of ideas. That’s my American Dream. It’s very naive, I think, but I hang onto it. I’m scared of the guns and stuff that’s going on.</p> <p><strong>But is there still a possibility of that dream?</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Well, if you look at my career, I’m realizing an American Dream. I’m having a great time. I’m certainly appreciated by enough people to make it worthwhile. I feel good, and I’m getting to act out a certain game or whatever you want to call it, and I think it is contributing something to the world. How important it is, I don’t know. I don’t have any illusions or visions of grandeur about it.</p> <p><strong>And you call yourself an architect!</strong></p> <p>Frank Gehry: Yeah!</p> </div>  </aside>  <div class="read-more__toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#full-interview"><a href="#" class="sans-4 btn">Read full interview</a></div> </article> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane fade" id="gallery" role="tabpanel"> <section class="isotope-wrapper">  <header class="toolbar toolbar--gallery bg-white clearfix"> <div class="col-md-6"> <div class="serif-4">Frank O. Gehry Gallery</div> </div> <div class="col-md-6 text-md-right isotope-toolbar"> <ul class="list-unstyled list-inline m-b-0 text-brand-primary sans-4"> <li class="list-inline-item" data-filter=".photo"><i class="icon-icon_camera"></i>24 photos</li> </ul> </div> </header> <div class="isotope-gallery isotope-box single-achiever__gallery clearfix"> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4990138067061" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Rasin-Building.jpg" data-image-caption="The Rasin Building, also known as the Dancing House or the Fred and Ginger Building, designed by Frank Gehry in Prague, Czech Republic. " data-image-copyright="wordpress-Rasin-Building" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Rasin-Building-253x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Rasin-Building-507x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.7511520737327" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-FGBox-02_258.jpg" data-image-caption="A young Ephraim Owen Goldberg with his parents, Irving and Thelma, at their home in Toronto, Canada." data-image-copyright="gehry-fgbox-02_258" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-FGBox-02_258-217x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-FGBox-02_258-434x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.65789473684211" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-gehry-frank255.jpg" data-image-caption="Architect Frank Gehry works on a model for a new building. (Courtesy of Frank O. Gehry)" data-image-copyright="wordpress-gehry-frank255" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-gehry-frank255-380x250.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-gehry-frank255-760x500.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66447368421053" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-Hotel-Marques-de-Riscal-photo-Thomas-Meyer.jpg" data-image-caption="2006: Marques de Riscal Hotel in Elciego, Spain, designed by Frank Gehry." data-image-copyright="wordpress-Frank-Gehry-Hotel-Marques-de-Riscal-photo-Thomas-Meyer" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-Hotel-Marques-de-Riscal-photo-Thomas-Meyer-380x252.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-Hotel-Marques-de-Riscal-photo-Thomas-Meyer-760x505.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-young290.jpg" data-image-caption="Frank Gehry in front of his boyhood home in Toronto in the mid-1940s. (Courtesy of Frank O. Gehry)" data-image-copyright="wordpress-Frank Gehry young290" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-young290-380x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-young290-760x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66447368421053" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-Barcelona_Frank_Gehrys_Peix.jpg" data-image-caption="1992: One of the first public projects of Gehry is the <i>Barcelona Fish</i> – a huge fish sculpture placed on Barcelona’s waterfront for the 1992 Olympics. The monumental fish sculpture functions as a landmark in the Olympic Village, anchoring a retail complex designed by Gehry Partners within a larger hotel development by Skidmore, Owing & Merill. This fish sculpture was also a landmark in the history of Frank O. Gehry & Associates, inaugurating the firm's use of computer-aided design and manufacturing. The project's financial and scheduling constraints prompted James M. Glymph, a partner in the firm, to search for a computer program that would facilitate the design and construction process, leading to the adoption of CATIA (computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application). The sculpture was modeled entirely in 3D and delivered directly to the fabricators as a 3D model. The fish is a frequently recurring motif in Gehry's work, serving as inspiration and mascot." data-image-copyright="small-barcelona_frank_gehrys_peix" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-Barcelona_Frank_Gehrys_Peix-380x252.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-Barcelona_Frank_Gehrys_Peix-760x505.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66315789473684" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-young289.jpg" data-image-caption="A teenage Frank Gehry (right) horsing around with a friend in his old neighborhood in Toronto. (Courtesy of Frank O. Gehry)" data-image-copyright="wordpress-Frank Gehry young289" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-young289-380x252.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-Frank-Gehry-young289-760x504.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.675" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-AP100317054102.jpg" data-image-caption="March 17, 2010: Architect Frank Gehry is seen in front of his creation, the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)" data-image-copyright="Frank Gehry" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-AP100317054102-380x257.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-AP100317054102-760x513.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66447368421053" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-174610889.jpg" data-image-caption="Frank Gehry's masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. (© Jose Fuste Raga/CORBIS)" data-image-copyright="The Guggenheim Bilbao, Museum of Modern Art, by architect" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-174610889-380x252.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-174610889-760x505.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.52763157894737" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-42-62294744.jpg" data-image-caption="Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton in the Bois de Boulogne. (© Christopher Peterson/Splash News/Corbis)" data-image-copyright="General views of of architect Frank Gehry's building Fondation Louis Vuitton designed for French billionaire Bernard Arnault located located at 8, Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi in the Bois de Boulogne on September 20, 2014 in Paris, France" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-42-62294744-380x201.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-42-62294744-760x401.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.3970588235294" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-FG_.jpg" data-image-caption="Frank as a young teenager. He moved to Los Angeles in 1947 and soon thereafter took his first architectural class." data-image-copyright="wp-gehry-fg_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-FG_-272x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-FG_-544x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-GEHRY-2013.0026-C_JWhite-e1438698249845.jpg" data-image-caption="2012: Frank Gehry's <i>Fish Lamp</i>, metal wire, ColorCore formica, silicone, and wooden base. The first Fish Lamps, which were shown in <i>Frank Gehry: Unique Lamps</i> in 1984 at Gagosian Los Angeles, employed wire armatures molded into fish shapes, onto which shards of ColorCore are individually glued, creating clear allusions to the morphic attributes of real fish. Since the creation of the first lamp in 1984, Gehry’s Fish Lamps have been exhibited in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and now Rome. The fish has become a recurrent motif in Gehry’s work, as much for its “good design” as for its iconographical and natural attributes. Its quicksilver appeal informs the undulating, curvilinear forms of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (1997); the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago (2004); and the Marqués de Riscal Vineyard Hotel in Elciego, Spain (2006), as well as the <i>Barcelona Fish</i> sculpture at Vila Olímpica in Barcelona (1989–92) and <i>Standing Glass Fish</i> for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (1986). In 2012 Gehry decided to revisit his earlier ideas, and began working on an entirely new group of Fish Lamps. The resulting works range in scale from life-size to outsize, and the use of ColorCore is bolder, incorporating larger and more jagged elements. The sculptures are each unique, and each made by hand. The softly glowing Fish Lamps are full of whimsy and vigor. Curling and flexing in attitudes of simulated motion, these artificial creatures emit a warm, incandescent light. This intimation of life, underscored by the almost organic textures of the nuanced surfaces, presents a spirited symbiosis of material, form, and function. (Josh White)" data-image-copyright="small-gehry-2013-0026-c_jwhite-e1438698249845" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-GEHRY-2013.0026-C_JWhite-e1438698249845-380x254.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/small-GEHRY-2013.0026-C_JWhite-e1438698249845-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.0919540229885" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-GehryFrank351.jpg" data-image-caption="Frank O. Gehry (Courtesy of Frank O. Gehry)" data-image-copyright="wordpress-GehryFrank351" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-GehryFrank351-348x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpress-GehryFrank351-696x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.75394736842105" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpres-gehry-santamonica.jpg" data-image-caption="Frank Gehry's Santa Monica residence. A breakthrough in his work, it was initially resisted by his Santa Monica neighbors. (Frank Gehry & Associates)" data-image-copyright="wordpres-gehry-santamonica" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpres-gehry-santamonica-380x286.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wordpres-gehry-santamonica-760x573.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.84078947368421" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/GettyImages-525509740.jpg" data-image-caption="Canadian-American Pritzker Prize–winning architect Frank Gehry. (Photo by Michael Childers/Corbis via Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/GettyImages-525509740-380x319.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/GettyImages-525509740-760x639.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.48157894736842" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehr0-Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall.jpg" data-image-caption="Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall opened in 2004 in downtown Los Angeles. (John O'Neill/Public Domain)" data-image-copyright="gehr0-Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehr0-Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall-380x183.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehr0-Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall-760x366.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.99605263157895" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/geh0-corbusier-gehry-GettyImages-160653107.jpg" data-image-caption="Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, better known as Le Corbusier, the Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, author and one of the pioneers of modern architecture. Frank Gehry spent a year as a young architect in Paris, where he studied the work of Le Corbusier. (Photo by Willy Rizzo/Paris Match via Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Close-up Of Le Corbusier" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/geh0-corbusier-gehry-GettyImages-160653107-380x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/geh0-corbusier-gehry-GettyImages-160653107-760x757.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.63026315789474" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-AP_724971320598.jpg" data-image-caption="November 7, 2013: Canadian artist Frank Gehry, who has recently been announced as the architect to take on the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, stands next his <i>Fish Lamps</i> at the opening of his exhibition at the Gagosian Mayfair gallery, in central London. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)" data-image-copyright="Britain Frank Gehry Fish Lamps" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-AP_724971320598-380x239.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-AP_724971320598-760x479.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.91710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-Neon-light-sculpture.jpg" data-image-caption="In the 1990s, Gehry pioneered a second generation of “smart” digital design in architecture, by using software to optimize designs and translate them directly into a process of fabrication and construction. Gehry and his team turned to a program called CATIA, a software package developed by aerospace manufacturer Dassault Systemes." data-image-copyright="gehry-frank-neon-light-sculpture" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-Neon-light-sculpture-380x348.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-Neon-light-sculpture-760x697.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.68815789473684" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-purple-and-blue-image.jpg" data-image-caption="Frank Gehry joined forces with Dassault Systemes for a collaborative development to revolutionize the world of architecture. The three-dimensional computer-aided design solution, developed for the aerospace industry, allowed Gehry to create technologically-sophisticated masterpieces such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao." data-image-copyright="gehry-frank-purple-and-blue-image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-purple-and-blue-image-380x261.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gehry-Frank-purple-and-blue-image-760x523.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.75" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-wh-2016.jpg" data-image-caption="November 22, 2016: President Barack Obama awards Frank Gehry with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C." data-image-copyright="wp-gehry-wh-2016" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-wh-2016-380x285.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-gehry-wh-2016-760x570.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.6" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-Guggenheim-Abu-Dhabi-Small162201581635.jpg" data-image-caption="The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry, presents an innovative vision for viewing contemporary art in the context of a desert landscape. Currently under development, the new museum will be situated on a peninsula at the northwestern tip of Saadiyat Island adjacent to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Surrounded on three sides by the Persian Gulf, the building site also serves as a manmade breakwater. Inspired by expansive industrial studio spaces, the museum design reflects the large scale at which many contemporary artists work, and presents new gallery layouts unlike conventional museum spaces." data-image-copyright="wp-guggenheim-abu-dhabi-small162201581635" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-Guggenheim-Abu-Dhabi-Small162201581635-380x228.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/wp-Guggenheim-Abu-Dhabi-Small162201581635-760x456.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/bilbao2_382240684.jpg" data-image-caption="The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The museum was built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Cantabrian Sea and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists. It is one of the largest museums in Spain." data-image-copyright="bilbao2_382240684" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/bilbao2_382240684-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/bilbao2_382240684-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.65657894736842" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-fishlamps.jpg" data-image-caption="<i>Fish Lamps</i> by Frank Gehry “draws upon the flowing and undulating movement of the water species, an aesthetic that often made an appearance in Gehry’s singular building designs.” (Matteo D’Eletto, Gagosian Gallery, Rome)" data-image-copyright="gehry-fishlamps" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-fishlamps-380x249.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gehry-fishlamps-760x499.jpg"></div>  </figure>    </div> </section> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <footer class="editorial-article__footer col-md-8 col-md-offset-4"> <div class="editorial-article__next-link sans-3"> <a href="#"><strong>What's next:</strong> <span class="editorial-article__next-link-title">profile</span></a> </div> <ul class="social list-unstyled list-inline ssk-group m-b-0"> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-facebook" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Facebook"><i class="icon-icon_facebook-circle"></i></a></li> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-twitter" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Twitter"><i class="icon-icon_twitter-circle"></i></a></li>  <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-email" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever via Email"><i class="icon-icon_email-circle"></i></a></li> </ul> <time class="editorial-article__last-updated sans-6">This page last revised on June 12, 2018</time> <div class="sans-4"><a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/how-to-cite" target="_blank">How to cite this page</a></div> </footer> </div> <div class="container interview-related-achievers"> <hr class="m-t-3 m-b-3"/> <footer class="clearfix small-blocks text-xs-center"> <h3 class="m-b-3 serif-3">If you are inspired by this achiever’s story, you might also enjoy:</h3> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service difficulty-with-school ambitious curious " data-year-inducted="2001" data-achiever-name="Brown"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carter-j-brown/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bro1-001-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bro1-001-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">J. 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id="find-achiever-list"> <div class="form-group"> <input id="find-achiever-input" class="search js-focus" placeholder="Search for an achiever"/> <i class="icon-icon_chevron-down"></i> </div> <ul class="find-achiever-list list m-b-0 list-unstyled"> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/hank-aaron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Hank Aaron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/kareem-abdul-jabbar/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/edward-albee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward Albee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/tenley-albright-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tenley Albright, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/julie-andrews/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Julie 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Ballard, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sir-roger-bannister-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Roger Bannister</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-banville/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Banville</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ehud-barak/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ehud Barak</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lee-r-berger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lee R. 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Ellison</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/nora-ephron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nora Ephron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/julius-erving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Julius Erving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/tony-fadell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tony Fadell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/paul-farmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Farmer, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/suzanne-farrell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzanne Farrell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sally-field/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally Field</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lord-norman-foster/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Norman Foster</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/milton-friedman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Milton Friedman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carlos-fuentes/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Fuentes</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/athol-fugard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Athol Fugard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ernest-j-gaines/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernest J. Gaines</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/william-h-gates-iii/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William H. Gates III</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-gehry/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank O. Gehry</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/murray-gell-mann-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Murray Gell-Mann, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carlos-ghosn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Ghosn</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/vince-gill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Vince Gill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ruth-bader-ginsburg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ruth Bader Ginsburg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/louise-gluck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louise Glück</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/whoopi-goldberg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Whoopi Goldberg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jane-goodall/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Jane Goodall</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/doris-kearns-goodwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/mikhail-s-gorbachev/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mikhail S. Gorbachev</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/nadine-gordimer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nadine Gordimer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/stephen-jay-gould/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carol-greider-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol Greider, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-grisham/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Grisham</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/dorothy-hamill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dorothy Hamill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/demis-hassabis-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Demis Hassabis, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lauryn-hill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lauryn Hill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sir-edmund-hillary/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Edmund Hillary</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/reid-hoffman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reid Hoffman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/khaled-hosseini/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Khaled Hosseini, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ron-howard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Howard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-hume/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Hume</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/louis-ignarro-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louis Ignarro, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/daniel-inouye/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Daniel K. Inouye</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jeremy-irons/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeremy Irons</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-irving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Irving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/kazuo-ishiguro/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Kazuo Ishiguro</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sir-peter-jackson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Peter Jackson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/donald-c-johanson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Donald C. Johanson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-m-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank M. Johnson, Jr.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/philip-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Philip C. Johnson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/chuck-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Chuck Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/james-earl-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Earl Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/quincy-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Quincy Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/paul-kagame/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Kagame</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/thomas-keller-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Thomas Keller</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/anthony-m-kennedy/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony M. Kennedy</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/b-b-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">B.B. King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carole-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carole King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/coretta-scott-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Coretta Scott King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/henry-kissinger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry A. Kissinger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/willem-j-kolff/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willem J. Kolff, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wendy-kopp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wendy Kopp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/henry-r-kravis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry R. Kravis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/nicholas-d-kristof/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nicholas D. Kristof</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/mike-krzyzewski/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mike Krzyzewski</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ray-kurzwell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Kurzweil</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/eric-lander-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/robert-s-langer-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert S. Langer, Sc.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/richard-leakey/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard E. Leakey</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/robert-lefkowitz-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/congressman-john-r-lewis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Congressman John R. Lewis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/maya-lin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Maya Lin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/george-lucas/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George Lucas</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/norman-mailer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman Mailer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/peyton-manning/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peyton Manning</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wynton-marsalis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wynton Marsalis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-c-mather-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John C. Mather, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/johnny-mathis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Mathis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ernst-mayr-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernst Mayr, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/willie-mays/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willie Mays</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-mccourt/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank McCourt</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/david-mccullough/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David McCullough</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/audra-mcdonald/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Audra McDonald</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/admiral-william-h-mcraven/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral William H. McRaven, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/w-s-merwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">W. S. Merwin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/james-a-michener/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James A. Michener</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/marvin-minsky-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Marvin Minsky, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/mario-j-molina-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mario J. Molina, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/n-scott-momaday-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">N. Scott Momaday, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/story-musgrave/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Story Musgrave, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ralph-nader/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ralph Nader</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/peggy-noonan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peggy Noonan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jessye-norman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jessye Norman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/tommy-norris/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Thomas R. Norris, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/joyce-carol-oates/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joyce Carol Oates</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/pierre-omidyar/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pierre Omidyar</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/larry-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/arnold-palmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Arnold Palmer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/rosa-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rosa Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/suzan-lori-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzan-Lori Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/linus-pauling/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linus C. Pauling, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/shimon-peres/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Shimon Peres</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/itzhak-perlman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Itzhak Perlman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/general-david-petraeus/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General David H. Petraeus, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sidney-poitier/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sidney Poitier</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General Colin L. Powell, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/harold-prince/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Harold Prince</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/venki-ramakrishnan-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Venki Ramakrishnan, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lord-martin-rees/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Martin Rees</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lloyd-richards/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lloyd Richards</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sally-ride-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally K. Ride, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sonny-rollins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonny Rollins</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/anthony-romero/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony Romero</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/james-rosenquist/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Rosenquist</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/pete-rozelle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pete Rozelle</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/bill-russell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Bill Russell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/albie-sachs/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Albie Sachs</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/oliver-sacks-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Oliver Sacks, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jonas-salk-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jonas Salk, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frederick-sanger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick Sanger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/george-b-schaller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George B. Schaller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/barry-scheck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Barry Scheck</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/richard-evans-schultes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard Evans Schultes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/general-h-norman-schwarzkopf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/stephen-schwarzman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen A. Schwarzman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/glenn-t-seaborg-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Glenn T. Seaborg, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/neil-sheehan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Neil Sheehan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/admiral-alan-shepard-jr/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ellen-johnson-sirleaf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ellen Johnson Sirleaf</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carlos-slim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Slim Helú</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frederick-w-smith/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick W. Smith</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/stephen-sondheim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Sondheim</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sonia-sotomayor/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonia Sotomayor</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wole-soyinka/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wole Soyinka</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/esperanza-spalding/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Esperanza Spalding</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/martha-stewart/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Martha Stewart</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20180622103947/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/admiral-james-b-stockdale/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral James B. 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