I grew up a few blocks from his funky Santa Monica house [1], passed by it all the time. When you’re a kid you typically see wild new things like that as just normal because you have no context for how unusual they are. His house defied that perspective; even as a kid you understand that being wrapped in oddly angled chain link fences and corrugated metal is just... different. It's an unanswered question, a loose thread, a thing you can't unknow.
I don't particularly like the house - it's meant to be challenging not beautiful - but with perspective I see now there aren't many creations out there that achieve existence in eternal confusion like it does for me. I see his other works like Bilbao [2] and Disney Hall as refinements on the concept with the added dimension of beauty. They're not quite as memorable, but I think do a great job exploring the frontier of beauty and befuddlement.
It’s the building that put Gehry on the map…it was published in the Record House issue of Architectural Record when the magazine was officially associated with the AIA.
For perspective Gehry was in his forties and had been practicing architecture for many years.
I got to meet Frank in the mid 90s while studying architecture in New Mexico. He was incredibly generous with his time and ideas to us students that stayed extra late to catch him touring the studios with the dean around midnight. His midnight critique of my design that was due the next morning made me throw it out and start over to include some of his ideas.
He also designed a Facebook’s office in Menlo Park. The roof was literally a park, seemingly blending with the bay and you could go for a nice nature stroll mid-day by just going up a flight of stairs.
https://arquitecturaviva.com/works/facebook-campus-in-menlo-...
I worked in this building. It was terrible. Low light, completely open office, people walking around you all the time, extremely noisy, pretty ugly (the roof-top garden was the exception). My team expensed noise cancelling headphones because it was so loud.
Architects like Frank Gehry don’t design the inside of a building, they make a nice artistic exterior and delegate the rest.
Interior architecture is done by psychopaths who never have to suffer through their ‘innovations’. I work in commercial construction and am not a fan of architects in general, I vastly prefer working on projects led by a mechanical or electrical engineer.
> He [Gehry] also designed a Facebook’s office in Menlo Park
The story that most people don't know is:
Gehry told Fb: let me have your building design business.
Fb said: no you're too expensive
Gehry said: hold on, I can do it cheap, you'll be surprised
Fb said: ok what you got
Gehry said: this
Fb said: wow ok yeah let's do it
Then, the kicker:
It was an off the shelf design. Gehry already had it designed sitting around. Fb was just the right customer.
IDK if it's true, but this was whispered around the Fb campus around when MPK 26 was under construction / opening.
He designed the Stata center at MIT. I know it's had lots of problems (leaks and other issues) because of its wonky design. But I always liked walking by, and thought of it as a Dr Seuss building.
Anecdotally, the professors I talked to in the building hated it. Non-rectilinear walls and oddly-shaped offices made it difficult to put up bookcases and desks. The windows were all custom, meaning if one broke, it was difficult to replace. And, of course, the aforementioned leaks.
I was in the Radio Society and had access to the Green Building (50) roof. The Stata Center actually looks coherent from that angle, and you can tell that was the angle the designers and approvers had been seeing it from (in model form) the whole time.
Agreed, such a great structure in NYC's skyline. Lived on 73 for a few years. The contoured windows and benches inside were just as fun as the exterior.
Still don't understand why they stuck a red brick school in the middle and didn't contour it with the stainless steel panels like the rest of the building.
From 2002: "Frank Gehry No Longer Allowed To Make Sandwiches For Grandkids":
https://theonion.com/frank-gehry-no-longer-allowed-to-make-s...
(just a picture, no story).
I grew up a few blocks from his funky Santa Monica house [1], passed by it all the time. When you’re a kid you typically see wild new things like that as just normal because you have no context for how unusual they are. His house defied that perspective; even as a kid you understand that being wrapped in oddly angled chain link fences and corrugated metal is just... different. It's an unanswered question, a loose thread, a thing you can't unknow.
I don't particularly like the house - it's meant to be challenging not beautiful - but with perspective I see now there aren't many creations out there that achieve existence in eternal confusion like it does for me. I see his other works like Bilbao [2] and Disney Hall as refinements on the concept with the added dimension of beauty. They're not quite as memorable, but I think do a great job exploring the frontier of beauty and befuddlement.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gehry_Residence
[2] especially the aerial perspective https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guggenheim_Museum_Bilbao#/medi...
I saw him speak about that house and at that time he was having a really hard time living in the suburban mindset. He wanted to offend.
I’m jealous that you knew it so well and as just another house.
It’s the building that put Gehry on the map…it was published in the Record House issue of Architectural Record when the magazine was officially associated with the AIA.
For perspective Gehry was in his forties and had been practicing architecture for many years.
I got to meet Frank in the mid 90s while studying architecture in New Mexico. He was incredibly generous with his time and ideas to us students that stayed extra late to catch him touring the studios with the dean around midnight. His midnight critique of my design that was due the next morning made me throw it out and start over to include some of his ideas.
He also designed a Facebook’s office in Menlo Park. The roof was literally a park, seemingly blending with the bay and you could go for a nice nature stroll mid-day by just going up a flight of stairs. https://arquitecturaviva.com/works/facebook-campus-in-menlo-...
I worked in this building. It was terrible. Low light, completely open office, people walking around you all the time, extremely noisy, pretty ugly (the roof-top garden was the exception). My team expensed noise cancelling headphones because it was so loud.
MPK 22 was also designed by Gehry Partners, which was a massive improvement on the inside, but outside is still kinda terrible in my opinion: https://www.truebeck.com/project/facebook-mpk-22/
Wow you weren't kidding. The insides of that looks like an absolute hellscape. Like a whole floor is missing and they just set up shop in a warehouse!
I’ve spent some time there, and it did seem like a building that was primarily designed for satellite view — never mind what goes on inside.
Architects like Frank Gehry don’t design the inside of a building, they make a nice artistic exterior and delegate the rest.
Interior architecture is done by psychopaths who never have to suffer through their ‘innovations’. I work in commercial construction and am not a fan of architects in general, I vastly prefer working on projects led by a mechanical or electrical engineer.
> He [Gehry] also designed a Facebook’s office in Menlo Park
The story that most people don't know is:
Then, the kicker: It was an off the shelf design. Gehry already had it designed sitting around. Fb was just the right customer.IDK if it's true, but this was whispered around the Fb campus around when MPK 26 was under construction / opening.
He designed the Stata center at MIT. I know it's had lots of problems (leaks and other issues) because of its wonky design. But I always liked walking by, and thought of it as a Dr Seuss building.
Anecdotally, the professors I talked to in the building hated it. Non-rectilinear walls and oddly-shaped offices made it difficult to put up bookcases and desks. The windows were all custom, meaning if one broke, it was difficult to replace. And, of course, the aforementioned leaks.
I was in the Radio Society and had access to the Green Building (50) roof. The Stata Center actually looks coherent from that angle, and you can tell that was the angle the designers and approvers had been seeing it from (in model form) the whole time.
They sued him for it:
https://thetech.com/2010/03/19/statasuit-v130-n14
“ neglige0nce”
Weird article. Maybe OCR?
I first heard of him through The Simpsons and will forever think of "Hey Frank Gehry! like curvilinear forms, much?" when I hear his name.
RIP. 8 Spruce is a personal favorite.
Agreed, such a great structure in NYC's skyline. Lived on 73 for a few years. The contoured windows and benches inside were just as fun as the exterior.
Still don't understand why they stuck a red brick school in the middle and didn't contour it with the stainless steel panels like the rest of the building.
NYT obit https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/arts/design/frank-gehry-d... (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46166034)
As an artist I appreciate Frank Gehry.
As an engineer I detest Frank Gehry.
If you think of him as a sculptor more than an architect it's nothing to get upset about.
I think the only one I consider worse is Calatrava from an engineering perspective
Who else gets confused between Frank Gehry and Frank Lloyd Wright?
Beyond sharing a first name, they don’t share much in common. And Frank Lloyd Wright died about the time Frank Gehry started.
Nope