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The Gleaming Towers of Gehry
By Arnold Chao
Fri, October 6, 2006, 12:01 am PDT

photo
Hotel Marqués De Riscal
Elciego Alava, Spain
(Photo by Martin Allen)
Who could overlook gigantic buildings resembling scrap piles? Ever since the opening of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum back in 1996, the controversial designs of Frank Gehry have become an international sensation. Big city developers have adopted a new motto: "Build a Gehry and the crowds will come." Fans sport Gehry's silly watches and relax on his cardboard chairs. So, what's the secret of this knight's success? Starting with messy drawings, Gehry and his associates assemble miniature models. Then, using high-tech scanning methods, they digitize the models into full-scale blueprints -- making even the most crumpled buildings possible. But his designs, opponents say, are just ugly gimmicks with gargantuan glares that overpower each building's surroundings. Nevertheless, the constant demand for Gehry stands strong with several projects including another Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi and the Bridge of Life museum in Panama City.

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Directory categories: Frank Gehry, Master Architects, Architecture
Archived under: Architecture, Arts, Design
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Comments

History will record that one of the signs of the excesses of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries couldbe found in itsstrange and impractical architecture.

The history will also record how this was one of the heralds of a new Dark Age.

Posted by: walter77777 at October 06, 2006 10:55 AM

Iraq should commission Frank Gehry to build a house of parliament. His designs look like they may be able to deflect mortars and rocket-propelled grenades...

Posted by: edelmatt at October 06, 2006 3:32 PM

More buildings of these sort and more resources used up.

Posted by: ajkda91 at October 07, 2006 7:56 AM

This is much better than that multi-colored pile of feces that sits in the middle of Seattle center.

Posted by: pdbruner at October 07, 2006 7:58 AM

Frank Gehry is one of the leading architects of our time. Some love him, some hate him. His buildings are more than architecture, they are sculptures.

Posted by: emad_a_hasan at October 07, 2006 8:00 AM

good gosh, walter, go lay a brick square somewhere and get it out of your system. save the world through your boring and practical architecture!

Posted by: tarbubble at October 07, 2006 8:00 AM

I apologize for being so brief but, though I am an artist myself, when I see this work the first question that comes to mind is, "Why?"

Posted by: cix7records at October 07, 2006 8:01 AM

The building's have a nice architectual design, but are they efficient and usefull when it comes to storms, tornados, earthquakes, people, ect. The buildings seem to just have alot of pointless excessive scrap metal, that dont seem to be very effecient compared to other buildings of the 21 century.

Posted by: mlmack66@sbcglobal.net at October 07, 2006 8:03 AM

I think the designs are awe inspiring. Certainly they're not any more pretentious than a skyscraper such as the Sears Tower, Empire State Building, Hancock Building, etc...

Posted by: joviyach at October 07, 2006 8:06 AM

The popularity of his designs may be attributed to the fact that the public at large has no taste (think Spandex shorts that come in size XXL).

Posted by: d7m11 at October 07, 2006 8:07 AM

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