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To: finnman69
why do we not like Gehry. The very first time I saw it I thought it was the most miraculous thing I had ever seen. Your distaste for the building confounds me. My father said the same thing as you. What about it does not amaze you.
120 posted on 05/10/2003 7:59:42 PM PDT by dramaboy
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To: dramaboy
why do we not like Gehry. The very first time I saw it I thought it was the most miraculous thing I had ever seen. Your distaste for the building confounds me. My father said the same thing as you. What about it does not amaze you.

That's easy, as an architect I have been trained in the use of form, materials and structure. I have been educated in the how to design space, circulation and sequence of movement in a rational coherent form. Architecture is not merely about spectacle and surface which is what Frank Gehry's 'architecture' has become. To me, his work is more inhabitable sculpture or skin than true architecture. Gehry's work and signature swooping titanium skins are interesting when used in a unique manner once. To see them replicated over and over regardless of context or use is akin to plopping down the same typical McDonald's over and over at rest stops across America. Granted they may be visually mjore interesting thana McDonalds, but the McDonalds typical reststop is truer to function at least.

I am all for the bold use of form and pushing the use of materials in new and ionnovative ways. But to me, it must be done for a reason, not just becasue you can do it. Gehry's buildings have become passe. They are built not to be unique solutions to programatic requirments but are built to be trophys or collector items.

I have vistited Gehry's earlt buildings in LA and found them to range from interesting and unique to be ugly and outrageous. My sister works at the EMP in Seattle, possibly one of the ugliest buildings I have ever seen. From the outside it is the most bizarre alien colored weird thing you have sver seen. on the inside, you have no idea you are in this thing at all. You might as well be in a warehouse.

Last week I was a visiting critic for a 2nd year architecture studio for a 5 year B Arch. program, and fundamentaly the worst projects were those that fall slave to one rigid idea. Gehry's buildings though technically amazing fail once you get past the exuberant skins which he literally spreads like peanut butter over boring interior boxes, you end up with boring boxes. What you see on the outside is never EVER expressed on ther inside. To me that is sacrilige and poor design.

Gehry has been doing the deconstructivist things for 10 years and it's over. Two of the few decent projects that appeared to fit into the context that I do admire is the Bilbao Guggenheim (the ultimate of these titanium swoops)and the American enter in Paris. His recent creations are these tinanium sails that relate to nothing and after a while they all look the same. At least in Paris the Limestone Clad American center related to the classic French low rise limestone construction. Ironicly, Gehry's overblown budget bankrupted the American center and they had to sell it. And in Bilbao there is a urban scale to the building and manipulation of from that relates to its river front siting.

125 posted on 05/11/2003 8:26:49 AM PDT by finnman69 (!)
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