Frank Owen Gehry, was born Ephraim Owen Goldberg on
February 28, 1929, in Toronto, Canada. At the age of 17,
Gehry moved to California to study at Los Angeles City College before
graduating from the Univeristy of Southern California School of Architecture.
He then attended Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he studied
city planning. After graduating from Harvard, Gehry served as project
designer for various firms in Paris and Los Angeles.
Gehry first caught the public’s attention in
1972 with his “Easy Edges” carboard furniture. Often considered
an offbeat, Gehry has become one of the world's leading architectural
icons.
He
is a famous architect best known for his sculptural technique in building
design. His most notable work, is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
He derives his style from late modernism, expressions of the deconstructivist
(or DeCon) school of modernist architecture. He often mixes uncoventional
shapes and building materials to produce stylish designs. Many of his
buildings, including museums and firms, have become tourist attractions
all over the world. Seattle’s EMP Music Museum is a clear example
of Gehry’s architectural extremes; although, the building is unique,
it received many harsh critical attacks. Nevertheless, the majority
of his admirers stand by Gehry’s choices in architectural design.
Gehry received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1989,
the highest award that can be received by an architect.
