Frank Gehry, the visionary architect whose radical, sculptural buildings reshaped skylines and redefined global architecture, has died at age 96. His death was confirmed by his chief of staff, Meaghan Lloyd.
Gehry rose to worldwide fame after his titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, opened in 1997, a project widely credited with reviving the city’s economy and inspiring the global “Bilbao effect” the idea that bold architecture can transform urban fortunes.
Born in Toronto in 1929, Gehry moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and studied architecture at the University of Southern California before completing postgraduate work at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. He launched his own practice and quickly broke away from architectural convention, favouring asymmetry, unconventional materials, and raw, unfinished surfaces an approach that later became known as deconstructivism.
His early breakthrough came when he reimagined his Santa Monica home using chain-link fencing, plywood, and corrugated metal. Later, his use of advanced 3D modelling adapted from aerospace engineering allowed him to build sweeping, curvaceous structures once considered impossible.
In 1989, Gehry won architecture’s highest honour, the Pritzker Prize. The jury praised his “highly refined, sophisticated and adventurous aesthetic,” comparing his work to jazz for its improvisational spirit.
Gehry’s designs became global landmarks, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, Gehry Tower in Germany, Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, Dancing House in Prague, Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Spain.
His Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, crafted from titanium, glass, and limestone, is still hailed as one of the greatest buildings of the modern era. Architect Philip Johnson once called it “the greatest building of our time.”
Gehry’s distinctively fluid, unpredictable designs earned public fascination and parody. His guest appearance on The Simpsons, where a crumpled piece of paper supposedly inspires a building design, became a cultural joke he later said “haunted” him, despite the complexity behind his real work.
Tributes have poured in from around the world. Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, called Gehry’s Paris building “his greatest masterpiece.” Author and architecture critic Paul Goldberger said Gehry was “one of the few architects to engage people emotionally,” adding that he worked with full creative energy until the end.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered condolences to his family, saying Gehry’s vision “lives on in iconic buildings around the world.” Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum also honoured him, saying his legacy “will always remain connected to Bilbao.”
Gehry is survived by his wife, Berta Isabel Aguilera; two daughters from his first marriage, Leslie and Brina; and two sons, Alejandro and Samuel.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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