Gehry on Glare
February 13, 2006 | 6:37
am
On Saturday Frank Gehry unveiled for the press his design for the much anticipated Alzheimer's Center to go in downtown Las Vegas. The building model is a marvel: the frontage is stacked blocked units for the researchers and patients with Gehry's distinctive metal and glass waves placed in the back where a banquet hall and open courtyard will create a major venue for events and fundraising. In his remarks, Gehry's spoke mostly about the building in detail but he also proved that recent history was still on his mind, and he had this to say about his latest LA project:
I had some bum rap at Disney Hall because of glare. That was 2% of the building had reflective stuff, and some pissed off lady (complained). So the County had to respond. (It took) A couple guys with steel wool and in about an hour and a half they fixed it. But it did appear as one of the 10 engineering disasters in the last ten years---talk about exaggerating. The county did a study of downtown LA that found 5 other buildings that were more reflective, but no one complained about them. So, we got to get more pissed off ladies.
That night $18 million was raised at the gala dinner and fundraising auction to honor Gehry and California First Lady Maria Shriver. And, when it was all over, someone else kicked in an anonymous $2 million donation.
(photo by Sarah Gerke)
So now one person's complaint is enough to deface a national landmark? And if three people complain, a book gets banned? What if 100 million people complain? Does anything happen then?
Posted by: David | February 14, 2006 at 02:17 AM
Okay, so I'm totally without taste...but if Mr. Gehry were not the architect, (and I really don't want to piss him off) wouldn't his design be looked at as unattractive, designed with Martians in mind, not humans and just plain silly for the sake of mere difference?
Personally, I think the emperor's naked....
Posted by: David | February 14, 2006 at 07:28 AM
Actually, it was this "built for Martians" motif that built Frank Gehry, the legend we know today. I believe that if it weren't Gehry that designed something like this, it would be someone else reaping the benefits of his legendary status with similarly outrageous designs. If you really want to level criticism at Gehry, maybe we should question what this design is doing housing an Alzheimer's Disease research center. When I first heard that Gehry was designing such a center in my hometown almost a year ago, the first thing I thought about was how confused those alzheimer's patients would be... I'm not saying that Gehry shouldn't be allowed to try... but I am definitely curious about the outcome of this...
I definitely wonder whose idea it was to commission Gehry for this project. Whoever it was, I would love to ask them a few questions about why they decided to execute a project like this...
Posted by: Arthur | February 18, 2006 at 09:13 PM
actually, it's the Holiday-Inn-feeling of most alzheimer's wards that cause problems. when all the rooms look exactly alike and all the floor plans are exactly alike, then people are apt to get even more confused than they already are. gehry seems to have solved THAT problem, at the least.
Posted by: brett | February 19, 2006 at 11:01 PM
Frank Ghery's design is out of place.
It has nothing to do with the Alzheimer sufferers.
It is a mockery
The design was probably ready and waiting in his drawer
He could offer it for any other public building/
Distorted and crooked buildings are "passe"
The human eye needs harmony.
Posted by: Sophie | February 20, 2006 at 02:17 AM
What harmony is there in another big box which is commisioned to the lowest bidder? Architecture as an art in this great country is dying fast at the hands of land developers and corporate greed. We need more visionaries like Gehry to be saved from the attrocious idea of building for the moment.
Posted by: Jonathan | July 23, 2006 at 06:04 PM
Gehry's architecture is exciting and inspiring. It wouldn't hurt if he were a bit more careful about the environment, but he's not the only one or the worst. His statements are slightly innacurate. It took a bit more than 2 hours of sanding and it was only because the consultant was very careful that a minimum needed to be sanded. The surfaces that focused into mid-air were left alone, in order to keep as much as possible of the building in its original state.
It is certainly true that there are other buildings which cause glare. That doesn't make it a good idea. But Gehry knows how to avoid focusing it, now. Hopefully, he will.
For a copy of the report, see: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~marcs/Disney/DisneyFinalRep12.pdf
- profschiler
Posted by: Marc Schiler | May 04, 2007 at 08:33 AM
There was an episode on The Simpsons that featured a Frank Gehry public building in which the builders constructed a sensible, useful, solid looking building and then a huge wrecking ball came and bashed the hell out of it till it was as crooked and twisted and bizarre looking as this monstrosity that's being foisted on the Vegas skyscape. What a freaking mess! I can't imagine anything more confusing to even able minded people than the twisted wreck that is this style of architecture. I believe before Mr. Gehry departs this lovely earth his architecture will succumb to the most damning of all truths, gravity. Public disdain and ridicule will be an equally damning legacy and in short order, the twisted steel will be melted down to make rebar to hold up some parking structure, which may be a darn sight better looking and more useful than this mess. Sixty million dollars? Sounds like Gehry and P.T. Barnum studied at the same school of salesmanship.
Posted by: Dana Dahl | December 10, 2007 at 09:37 PM
http://wadias.in/site/arzan/blog/mit-sues-architect-frank-gehry/
Ask and ye shall recieve. This was found in 30 seconds after my previous post. Neener Neener Ha Ha to those who think his stuff is "Cutting Edge". Stand in front of one of the sloppy planes at MIT and let a big ice sheet cut the edge right off the top of your head.
Posted by: Dana Dahl | December 10, 2007 at 09:49 PM