{"id":182275,"date":"2025-12-09T04:12:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T04:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/182275\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T04:12:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T04:12:12","slug":"how-frank-gehry-rip-and-the-guggenheim-museum-bilbao-changed-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/182275\/","title":{"rendered":"How Frank Gehry (RIP) and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Changed Architecture"},"content":{"rendered":"

It felt, for quite some time there, like the age of Frank Gehry<\/a> would nev\u00ader end.\u00a0But now that the lat\u00adest defin\u00ading fig\u00adure of Amer\u00adi\u00adcan archi\u00adtec\u00adture \u2014 or tech\u00adni\u00adcal\u00adly, Cana\u00addi\u00adan-Amer\u00adi\u00adcan archi\u00adtec\u00adture \u2014 has died<\/a> at the age of 96, the time has come to ask when, exact\u00adly, his age began. Or rather, with which build\u00ading:\u00a0Walt Dis\u00adney Con\u00adcert Hall in Los Ange\u00adles?\u00a0The Louis Vuit\u00adton Foun\u00adda\u00adtion in Paris? The rad\u00adi\u00adcal ren\u00ado\u00adva\u00adtion of his own hum\u00adble San\u00adta Mon\u00adi\u00adca home<\/a> often cit\u00aded at the ori\u00adgin point of the\u00a0metal\u00adlic, delib\u00ader\u00adate\u00adly incon\u00adgru\u00adous, often near\u00adly alien aes\u00adthet\u00adic now rec\u00adog\u00adnized around the world?\u00a0Accord\u00ading to the B1M video above<\/a>, it is to the Guggen\u00adheim Muse\u00adum Bil\u00adbao we must look to if we wish to under\u00adstand the archi\u00adtec\u00adture of Frank Gehry \u2014 and much else besides.<\/p>\n

The Guggen\u00adheim Bil\u00adbao was a chal\u00adleng\u00ading project when it was first con\u00adceived in the ear\u00adly nine\u00adteen-nineties, but then, Bil\u00adbao was a chal\u00adlenged set\u00adting. Once a pros\u00adper\u00adous port city, the Basque metrop\u00ado\u00adlis had fall\u00aden on hard times indeed,\u00a0rapid\u00adly dein\u00addus\u00adtri\u00adal\u00adiz\u00ading with\u00adout much in the way of alter\u00adna\u00adtive appeal. Bil\u00adbao\u2019s slight his\u00adto\u00adry with tourism went back to the mid-nine\u00adteenth cen\u00adtu\u00adry, but for many Spaniards, the prospect of turn\u00ading the place into an inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal des\u00adti\u00adna\u00adtion seemed remote at best. Still, an ambi\u00adtious devel\u00adop\u00adment plan was devised involv\u00ading new infra\u00adstruc\u00adture, includ\u00ading the city\u2019s first metro sys\u00adtem, cen\u00adtered around a branch of New York\u2019s Solomon R. Guggen\u00adheim Muse\u00adum.<\/p>\n

With its orig\u00adi\u00adnal Fifth Avenue loca\u00adtion designed by Frank Lloyd Wright<\/a> (Gehry\u2019s pre\u00adde\u00adces\u00adsor in the cul\u00adtur\u00adal role of the one archi\u00adtect, or \u201cstar\u00adchi\u00adtect,\u201d of whom every\u00adone has heard), that insti\u00adtu\u00adtion had a cer\u00adtain degree of expe\u00adri\u00adence with dar\u00ading build\u00ading designs. Famil\u00adiar though the look of its gleam\u00ading sculp\u00adtur\u00adal curves may be today, actu\u00adal\u00adly con\u00adstruct\u00ading their non-Euclid\u00adean geo\u00admet\u00adric forms in real\u00adi\u00adty required tech\u00adnolo\u00adgies nev\u00ader before wide\u00adly employed in archi\u00adtec\u00adture, includ\u00ading the ear\u00adly 3D-mod\u00adel\u00ading sys\u00adtem CATIA (this video\u2019s spon\u00adsor, inci\u00adden\u00adtal\u00adly). Nor was the search for the right exte\u00adri\u00ador tex\u00adture to reflect Bil\u00adbao\u2019s dis\u00adtinc\u00adtive\u00adly cloudy skies espe\u00adcial\u00adly straight\u00adfor\u00adward, but it did ben\u00ade\u00adfit from good tim\u00ading: Gehry deter\u00admined that tita\u00adni\u00adum could do the job, where\u00adupon the mass decom\u00admis\u00adsion\u00ading of Sovi\u00adet sub\u00admarines hap\u00adpened to dump a great deal of that mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal on the mar\u00adket.<\/p>\n

In these tech\u00adno\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal, polit\u00adi\u00adcal, and eco\u00adnom\u00adic ways, the Guggen\u00adheim Bil\u00adbao was a prod\u00aduct of its time. As it hap\u00adpened, it and the asso\u00adci\u00adat\u00aded rede\u00advel\u00adop\u00adments did, in fact, breathe new life into the city, which has inspired a decades-long \u201cBil\u00adbao effect\u201d on projects around the world with sim\u00adi\u00adlar goals, some of them also fea\u00adtur\u00ading Gehry-designed cul\u00adtur\u00adal insti\u00adtu\u00adtions. As the B1M host Fred Mills puts it, \u201cTelling a sto\u00adry like this real\u00adly is like read\u00ading out a list of things that we, today, take for grant\u00aded: the idea that a muse\u00adum could be an inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal tourist attrac\u00adtion, the tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy, the 3D design.\u201d And, like most archi\u00adtects, Gehry is sur\u00advived by not just his built lega\u00adcy, but also a series of projects not yet com\u00adplete \u2014 includ\u00ading the Guggen\u00adheim Abu Dhabi, sched\u00aduled to open its doors next year.<\/p>\n

You can see a pho\u00adto gallery of Gehry\u2019s oth\u00ader ground\u00adbreak\u00ading archi\u00adtec\u00adtur\u00adal projects at The Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Relat\u00aded con\u00adtent:<\/p>\n

Gehry\u2019s Vision for Archi\u00adtec\u00adture<\/a><\/p>\n

An Archi\u00adtec\u00adtur\u00adal Tour of Sagra\u00adda Fam\u00edlia, Antoni Gaud\u00ed\u2019s Auda\u00adcious Church That\u2019s Been Under Con\u00adstruc\u00adtion for 142 Years<\/a><\/p>\n

On the Impor\u00adtance of the Cre\u00adative Brief: Frank Gehry, Maira Kalman & Oth\u00aders Explain its Essen\u00adtial Role<\/a><\/p>\n

How Zaha Hadid Rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adized Archi\u00adtec\u00adture & Drew Inspi\u00adra\u00adtion from Russ\u00adian Avant-Garde Art<\/a><\/p>\n

Take an Online Course on Design & Archi\u00adtec\u00adture with Frank Gehry<\/a><\/p>\n

Frank Lloyd Wright Thought About Mak\u00ading the Guggen\u00adheim Muse\u00adum Pink<\/a><\/p>\n

Based in Seoul,\u00a0Col\u00adin<\/a>\u00a0M<\/a>a<\/a>rshall<\/a>\u00a0writes and broad\u00adcasts on cities, lan\u00adguage, and cul\u00adture. His projects include the Sub\u00adstack newslet\u00adter\u00a0Books on Cities<\/a>\u00a0and the book\u00a0The State\u00adless City: a Walk through 21st-Cen\u00adtu\u00adry Los Ange\u00adles.\u00a0Fol\u00adlow him on the social net\u00adwork for\u00admer\u00adly known as Twit\u00adter at\u00a0@colinm<\/a>a<\/a>rshall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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