Overview
- Gehry died Friday at his Santa Monica home following a brief respiratory illness, according to chief of staff Meaghan Lloyd, with The New York Times first reporting the news.
- He gained global prominence with the titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and later the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, works that drew huge audiences and critical acclaim.
- The Bilbao museum’s success helped popularize the so-called “Bilbao effect,” as cities pursued landmark architecture to drive tourism, investment and urban renewal.
- A pioneer of computer-driven design, he realized complex curvilinear forms in unconventional materials such as titanium, stainless steel and corrugated metal.
- He received top honors including the Pritzker Prize, the AIA Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and he is survived by his wife, Berta, and children Sam, Alejandro and Brina, with his practice still holding major commissions.