Product Description

gehry talks: architecture + process

With the completion of the celebrated Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, architect Frank O. Gehry has entered the pantheon of twentieth-century masters. In this wholly unique new book, a condensed edition of the original volume of the same name, Gehry himself offers extensive and illuminating commentary on various aspects of the processes involved in developing his revolutionary designs, including his influences, clients, use of materials, and new technologies.

Gehry Talks: Architecture + Process documents all of his new work of this decade, tracing his evolution from a southern California architect known for his idiosyncratic use of materials and collaboration with local artists, to an international figure whose fluid, hitherto undreamt-of forms surge beyond the aesthetic and technical constraints of the twentieth century. From the titanium-wrapped curves of the Guggenheim Bilbao to the binocular facade of the Chiat-Day Headquarters in California, his innovative structural ideas evoke a sense of freedom and spontaneity while, at the same time, displaying the utmost control. Unbound by guidelines of symmetry or the grid's delineation, his structures spring forth, engaged in a seemingly limitless play of ideas--ever-changing in both the multitudinous combinations of shapes suggested by the form and the depth of the conceptual associations implied by the design. Fish and snake motifs birl upon his building's rippling surfaces, while light follows the asymmetrical trajectories of their metallic folds. Though controversial and daring, his works always possess an elegance that lends warmth and humane scope to each project, regardless of the level of innovation--as evinced in contexts as varying as the complicated, and unrealized, plan of the Lewis House in Lyndhurst, Ohio, or the clarity of the idea behind the Üstra office building in Hannover, Germany.

This generously illustrated presentation features twenty-four projects, including the Chiat-Day Headquarters in Venice, California; the Team Disneyland Administration Building in Anaheim, California; the Vitra Furniture Museum and Factory in Weil am Rhein, Germany; and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The book features insightful essays by editor Mildred Friedman and architecture critic Michael Sorkin, as well as photographs of buildings that have been completed since the publication of the original volume.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #320629 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-20
• Released on: 2002-12-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author
Mildred Friedman is the editor of Rizzoli's The Architecture of Frank Gehry (1986) and the curator of the 1986 Gehry exhibition at the Walker Art Center.

Michael Sorkin is a New York-based architecture critic and author of Exquisite Corpse and Michael Sorkin Studio: Wiggle.

Customer Reviews

Great insight into the architectural mind of Gehry
Frank Gehry's architecture has been receiving a lot of attention lately, and one can often wonder "How do those building get built?" well this book will tell you how the design go from sketches, to models, to the computer, to the final product... The photos in the book of models and the computer renderings are incredibly interesting and help the reader understand what it takes for a Gehry building to be born. Old, recent, and current projects are featured in this book. Definately a book worth picking up.

Gehry's essays unpretentious, lack depth
The big plus for me in reading this book is that Gehry lacks the pretension of being overly intellectual and doesn't feel the need to wrap himself in some sort of pseudo-scientific process -- as if he himself is an observer of his own, mysterious, secret process. His anecdotes for each project are conversational and reflect a lot of facets of the profession that people see as interfering with design.

On the other hand, I read this book with the expectation that I would get some great insight, some more lessons that I could take with me and apply them to my work. I was disappointed with the depth of insight into his own projects. I got the general sense that each project was a reaction to incidental material in front of him, some vague sense of character he wanted in the work and some of those "real-world" constraints he had to deal with. In other words, the essays weren't into big ideas, not much philosophy, and little depth in terms of projects' evolution. It presents each project as a kind of Rue Goldberg set of moments, more of a quick chronology and sometimes more about how he got the commission than how he got the design.

There are a few moments of good insight in the introduction, before he gets into specific projects. For example, his interest in the drapery of clothing, particularly its representation in sculpture (his example is a bit odd, perhaps) is obvious if you've looked at his stuff long enough, but it's nice to hear as much from him. There is more insight into Gehry's relationships with other people, his clients and a couple of his designers here, and that's a good read to some extent.

The photos are pretty good. However, they don't complement the writing very well, nice as they are. Some things Gehry tries to describe should actually be shown and referenced, but these are mostly PR shots, and the photos are usually aspects of the work, and don't always do a good job orienting you to the project.

Considering how accessible the book's writing is and its relatively affordable price (for an architecture book, that is), I still think it's worth picking up for yourself. Different people will be rewarded differently from it, but it's not on the level of other great architects' writings.

A fitting tribute to this groundbreaking architect
"Gehry Talks" is a thought provoking study of the evolution of Frank Gehry's avante-garde architecture. Anyone who adores modern architecture, or modern art for that matter, would be inspired by and should own this book.