Frank Gehry, American Architect, Passes Away at Home
Pritzker Prize Winner... Renowned for Leading Urban Regeneration
Admired Korean Ceramics and Traditions... Also Designed 'Maison Seoul'
World-renowned architect Frank Gehry passed away on December 5 (local time) at his home in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, United States. He was 96 years old. Gehry was reported to have suffered from a respiratory illness for a short period.
Born in Toronto, Canada, he worked in the United States and received numerous honors, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize-considered the Nobel Prize of architecture-in 1989, the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The work that elevated Gehry to the status of a global master was the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which opened in Spain in 1997. By giving a modern image to Bilbao, a city that had been in decline as a port and industrial hub, the museum became a symbol of urban regeneration.
In 2014, Frank Gehry is talking with reporters about his work, the Louis Vuitton Foundation Cultural Center. Photo by AP Yonhap News
Other major works born from his touch include the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, and landmark buildings in Germany, the Czech Republic, and elsewhere.
Born in 1929 to a working-class family in Toronto, Gehry grew up handling tools at his grandfather’s hardware store. He recalled that once a week during his childhood, his grandmother would bring home a live carp from the market. He was said to have drawn inspiration from observing the carp in the bathtub, which led to his fondness for curves and organic forms. In 1947, he moved to Los Angeles, where he studied architecture at the University of Southern California and later learned urban planning at Harvard University.
A section of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain designed by Frank Gehry. Photo by AP Yonhap News.
He also had ties to Korea. In a 2012 lecture at the Samsung Museum of Art Leeum, he stated, "A work is only complete when the architect’s passion is conveyed to the viewer." He expressed a deep interest in Korean ceramics and artworks. There is also a well-known anecdote of him requesting a private tour of Jongmyo Shrine during his visit to Korea. In 2019, he participated in the design of Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, where he revealed that he drew inspiration from traditional Korean architecture and the movement of cranes.
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