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Frank Gehry, who passed away aged 96, influenced the direction of contemporary building at least on two distinct occasions. Initially, in the seventies, his informal style revealed how everyday materials like chain-link fencing could be transformed into an expressive architectural element. Second, in the 1990s, he pioneered the use of computers to construct radically new forms, giving birth to the undulating metallic fish of the Bilbao Guggenheim and a fleet of similarly sculptural buildings.

A Defining Landmark

When it opened in 1997, the titanium-covered Guggenheim seized the attention of the architectural profession and global media. It was celebrated as the leading embodiment of a new era of digitally-driven design and a masterful piece of urban sculpture, snaking along the waterfront, part renaissance palace and a hint of ship. The impact on museums and the world of art was profound, as the so-called “Bilbao phenomenon” transformed a post-industrial city in Spain’s north into a major tourist destination. In just 24 months, aided by a global media storm, Gehry’s museum was said with adding $400 million to the city’s fortunes.

In the eyes of some, the spectacle of the building was deemed to detract from the art inside. The critic Hal Foster contended that Gehry had “given his clients too much of what they want, a sublime space that dwarfs the viewer, a striking icon that can circulate through the media as a brand.”

More than any contemporary architect of his era, Gehry amplified the role of architecture as a recognizable trademark. This branding prowess proved to be his key strength as well as a point of criticism, with some later projects veering toward repetitive cliche.

Formative Years and the “Cheapskate Aesthetic”

{A rumpled everyman who wore casual attire, Gehry’s relaxed demeanor was central to his architecture—it was consistently fresh, inclusive, and willing to experiment. Sociable and ready to smile, he was “Frank” to his clients, with whom he frequently cultivated long friendships. Yet, he could also be brusque and cantankerous, especially in his later life. On one notable occasion in 2014, he dismissed much modern architecture as “rubbish” and famously flashed a journalist the middle finger.

Born Toronto, Canada, Frank was the son of Jewish immigrants. Facing antisemitism in his youth, he anglicized his surname from Goldberg to Gehry in his twenties, a move that eased his career path but later caused him regret. Ironically, this early suppression led him to later embrace his heritage and identity as an maverick.

He relocated to California in 1947 and, after stints as a lorry driver, earned an architecture degree. Subsequent time in the army, he briefly studied city planning at Harvard but left, disenchanted. He then worked for pragmatic modernists like Victor Gruen and William Pereira, an experience that cultivated what Gehry termed his “low-budget realism,” a raw or “dirty realism” that would influence a wave of architects.

Collaboration with Artists and the Path to Distinction

Before achieving his distinctive style, Gehry worked on minor renovations and studios for artists. Feeling overlooked by the Los Angeles architectural establishment, he turned to artists for acceptance and ideas. This led to fruitful friendships with artists like Ed Ruscha and Claes Oldenburg, from whom he learned the art of canny transformation and a “funk art” sensibility.

Inspired by more minimalist artists like Richard Serra, he grasped the power of repetition and reduction. This fusion of influences solidified his idiosyncratic aesthetic, perfectly aligned to the West Coast zeitgeist of the era. A pivotal project was his 1978 residence in Santa Monica, a small house wrapped in chain-link and other industrial materials that became infamous—loved by the avant-garde but reviled by neighbors.

The Computer Revolution and Global Icon

The major breakthrough came when Gehry began harnessing computer software, specifically CATIA, to translate his ever-more-ambitious designs. The first major result of this was the winning design for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in 1991. Here, his longstanding motifs of abstracted fish curves were unified in a coherent architectural language sheathed in shimmering titanium, which became his hallmark material.

The immense success of Bilbao—the “effect”—echoed worldwide and secured Gehry’s status as a global starchitect. Major projects poured in: the concert hall in Los Angeles, a skyscraper in New York, the Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and a campus building in Sydney that resembled a pile of crumpled paper.

Gehry's celebrity transcended architecture; he was featured on *The Simpsons*, created a hat for Lady Gaga, and worked with figures from Brad Pitt to Mark Zuckerberg. Yet, he also completed modest and personal projects, such as a cancer care centre in Dundee, designed as a personal tribute.

A Lasting Influence and Personal Life

Frank Gehry received numerous honors, including the Pritzker Prize (1989) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016). Essential to his success was the support of his second wife, Berta Aguilera, who handled the business side of his practice. She, along with their two sons and a daughter from his first marriage, survive him.

Frank Owen Gehry, entered the world on February 28, 1929, leaves behind a world permanently shaped by his audacious forays into form, technology, and the very concept of what a building can be.