Overview
- Frank Gehry died on December 5 at his Santa Monica home at age 96 after a brief respiratory illness, his office confirmed.
- He became one of the world’s most recognizable architects with landmark works such as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Walt Disney Concert Hall, alongside major honors including the Pritzker Prize.
- His 1977 Santa Monica bungalow, wrapped in corrugated steel, plywood, chain‑link and glass, served as a personal laboratory that influenced his later projects and drew local complaints and an attempted lawsuit.
- In later years he built a second Santa Monica residence with his son Samuel Gehry, translating the earlier experiment into a more refined palette with high-end materials.
- He remained active with multiple commissions at his death, as debate continued over his limited residential footprint in Los Angeles and partially realized civic ideas such as the county-adopted but largely conceptual Los Angeles River plan.