Bowing out gracefully is a rare thing in the starchitect firmament

Catherine Slessor | 5 March 2024 | Dezeen Magazine

Though it seems like only yesterday that the ribbon was being cut on the?Bilbao Guggenheim, Frank Gehry turned 95 at the end of February.

Architecture's original enfant terrible, the charismatic scavenger who audaciously ornamented his?Santa Monica house?with chain-link fencing and propelled Bilbao into the European short-break big league, Gehry might now be better described as un vieux terrible, unrepentantly?giving journalists the finger at press conferences?and designing fatuous, limited edition?handbags for Louis Vuitton.

'If Gehry matches Niemeyer, that's another nine years of terrible handbags.'

Along with others of his generation, Gehry shows no signs of easing up and going gently into that good night. At 88 years young,?Norman Foster?recently assumed the helm of Domus for 2024 as part of the magazine's centenary project to devolve its editorship to 10 starchitects over 10 years.

Though Foster?is no longer able to pilot his own plane, he is regularly pictured on his Instagram feed being choppered over cities, sketchbook in hand, sustaining the impression that he is as engaged and productive as he ever was. Editing Domus is merely another prestigious side hustle.

Historically, architecture is an old man's game:?IM Pei?was 102 when he died,?Philip Johnson?98,?Frank Lloyd Wright?91 and?Mies van der Rohe?83 (a relative stripling). Who can say how long?Le Corbusier?(77) may have lasted if he hadn't gone for that fateful dip in the Med?

Author: Catherine Slessor

RANKED: The 13 Coolest Buildings By Starchitect Frank Gehry

Megan Willett-Wei I Mar 1, 2014 I Business Insider

Frank Gehry, one of the most prolific and famous architects on earth,?turns 85 years old today.

Chances are you've seen one of his undulating and mind-bending architectural marvels?even if you didn't know it was a Gehry building.

The internationally acclaimed American artist has been making us question how we perceive buildings ever since his billowing designs splashed onto the scene.

Here are his 13 best works, ranked, based on aesthetic appeal and critical acclaim. See more of our favorite buildings on our?Cool Architecture board on Pinterest.

13. Neuer Zollhof, Düsseldorf, Germany

12. The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

11. Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, California, USA

10. DZ Bank Building (Atrium), Berlin, Germany

9. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

8. Vitra Design Museum, Rhein, Germany

7. MIT's Strata Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

6. The Dancing House, Prague, Czech Republic

5. Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington, USA

4. Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

3. Marqués de Riscal Winery, Rioja, Spain

2. No. 8 Spruce Street (Beekman Tower), New York, New York, USA

1. Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain

Author: Megan Willett-Wei