The architectural world mourns the passing of Frank Gehry, the revolutionary designer whose sculptural buildings transformed city skylines worldwide. The Pritzker Prize-winning architect died Friday at 96 in his Santa Monica home following a brief respiratory illness, confirmed his firm Gehry Partners LLP.
Gehry’s extraordinary career spanned seven decades, during which he redefined architectural possibilities with his deconstructivist approach. His fascination with modern pop art manifested in breathtaking structures that became instant cultural landmarks, including the titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, the stainless steel sails of Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and Berlin’s innovative DZ Bank Building.
Beyond his iconic cultural institutions, Gehry designed significant corporate structures including Facebook’s Northern California headquarters expansion at the personal request of CEO Mark Zuckerberg. His professional accolades encompassed every major architectural honor, from the Royal Institute of British Architects gold medal to the Companion of the Order of Canada, his native country’s highest distinction.
Gehry’s journey began in Toronto, where he was born Ephraim Owen Goldberg on February 28, 1929. He moved to Los Angeles in 1947, eventually becoming a U.S. citizen and changing his name at his first wife’s suggestion to counter potential antisemitism. His architectural awakening came unexpectedly when a college ceramics professor recognized his talent, leading him to pursue formal studies at the University of Southern California and later urban planning at Harvard.
Despite universal acclaim, Gehry’s work occasionally faced criticism. Some detractors dismissed his structures as overscaled versions of the scrap-wood cities he built as a child in Timmins, Ontario. Princeton critic Hal Foster termed later works “oppressive” tourist attractions, while others compared Disney Hall to “cardboard boxes left in the rain.” The Eisenhower family notably objected to his proposed memorial design for the 34th president.
Gehry typically responded to criticism with characteristic wit, even parodying his design process in a 2005 “Simpsons” episode where he created a concert hall from crumpled paper. He continued working into his eighties, leaving behind a legacy that includes Manhattan’s shimmering IAC Building and the 76-story New York By Gehry tower. He is survived by his wife Berta, three children, and the extraordinary architectural landmarks that will continue to define cities for generations.