The Official Frank Gehry Thread

[PaloAltoCougar]

Gehry designed the concert hall for Springfield. Due to a lack of interest in the symphonic arts, the hall was converted into a prison. At least viewers of The Simpsons learned the source of Gehry's inspiration.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I'm actually partial to the fine architecture that can be found on BYU's campus.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I know of him due to his designing a concert hall that goes bankrupt and becomes the prison on the Simpsons.

Here is Frank checking his mail


Here is the concert hall/prison

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Gehry designed the concert hall for Springfield. Due to a lack of interest in the symphonic arts, the hall was converted into a prison. At least viewers of The Simpsons learned the source of Gehry's inspiration.

Blast this slow satellite internet! I knew PAC would know the Simpson's reference.

[Donuthole]

I'm actually partial to the fine architecture that can be found on BYU's campus.

Please don't leave out

[PaloAltoCougar]

Blast this slow satellite internet! I knew PAC would know the Simpson's reference.

It pleases me that my reflexes (and internet connection) haven't fully degraded. And although I've mentioned it before, I still bask in paternal pride over Mini-Me's coomment a few years back when were taking a Segway (!) tour of Chicago, and came upon the Gehry-designed structure at Millenium Park. Before the tour guide said anything, my then 13 year-old asked, "Did Frank Gehry design that?" Impressed, the guide said yes and asked how my son knew Gehry's worrk. "Uh, it looks like the concert hall on the Simpsons, and Gehry designed that, too," he replied. Education is where you find it.

[RobinFinderson]

It pleases me that my reflexes (and internet connection) haven't fully degraded. And although I've mentioned it before, I still bask in paternal pride over Mini-Me's coomment a few years back when were taking a Segway (!) tour of Chicago, and came upon the Gehry-designed structure at Millenium Park. Before the tour guide said anything, my then 13 year-old asked, "Did Frank Gehry design that?" Impressed, the guide said yes and asked how my son knew Gehry's worrk. "Uh, it looks like the concert hall on the Simpsons, and Gehry designed that, too," he replied. Education is where you find it.

You can also tell him that RobinFinderson managed the digital portion of the construction review for that project.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Please don't leave out

A picture of the law building from this distance doesn't display it's true beauty. In places, it's encrusted with some white gravel and mortar mixture, it's a fantastic example of mid-70s architecture.

The administration building brings to life the Mike Brady school of 1960s architecture. Only I think BYU was ahead of the curve and actually built in the 50s.

Finally, the HFAC is a great representation of the tan-orange brick that can be found throughout BYU's campus. When you see the HFAC, its striking features immediately make it apparent that it is the location where students of the arts congregate at BYU. Started in the 1960s, BYU was attempting to establish an eastern bloc motif and found the tan-orange brick conveyed the image quite well- so well that BYU chose to use it on all subsequent buildings constructed through the mid 90s. The Benson building represents the pinnacle of BYU's unique faux eastern bloc theme and BYU's undying adoration and loyalty to the tan-orange brick.

[TripletDaddy]

What happened to BYU's interest in architecture? They started out strong with the Academy building on University. The Maeser building is beautiful. The testing center is nice from the outside and the old JSB was cool.

Once you venture any further North on campus, it becomes an homage to a 1960s design nightmare.

You would think that the administration would get creative. It is too expensive to tear down many of these architectural monstrosities, so why not be clever.....invest a few thousand bucks at the local greenhouse, let the award-winning grounds crew work its mojo, and cover the sides of these brick tombs with cool ivy walls. Presto....instant academic credibility! Nothing screams academia more than ivy-covered walls.

I actually think it is a legit alternative to some otherwise drab looking buildings.

Some of the buildings on campus are cool, though. The Tanner Building, for example....if I had to spend a lot of time in a building, I was glad it was that one. there is a fairly new building on campus....just West of the HBLL, right by the Naked Indian (www.thenakedindian.com)....it is pretty cool looking....lots of glass and fountains. not sure which building that is but my daughter and I explored it a bit when we were there last week.

[ERCougar]

A picture of the law building from this distance doesn't display it's true beauty. In places, it's encrusted with some white gravel and mortar mixture, it's a fantastic example of mid-70s architecture.

The administration building brings to life the Mike Brady school of 1960s architecture. Only I think BYU was ahead of the curve and actually built in the 50s.

Finally, the HFAC is a great representation of the tan-orange brick that can be found throughout BYU's campus. When you see the HFAC, its striking features immediately make it apparent that it is the location where students of the arts congregate at BYU. Started in the 1960s, BYU was attempting to establish an eastern bloc motif and found the tan-orange brick conveyed the image quite well- so well that BYU chose to use it on all subsequent buildings constructed through the mid 90s. The Benson building represents the pinnacle of BYU's unique faux eastern bloc theme and BYU's undying adoration and loyalty to the tan-orange brick.

LOL...very nice. This is one of the funniest things I've read in a while.

[Surfah]

No retail is being built in Utah (or elsewhere) in the current economic climate. I do know that Holding's hotel project for Pleasant Grove is slowly moving forward, which actually surprises me.

I know this to be true. So does my wallet.

That Brandt Anderson project will never happen.

[Tim]

I think that building is exceedingly excellent.




If you want a bit of perspective on postmodern architecture, check out Venturi's "Duck and the Decorated Shed." Here's a link, but google kills some pages, so it's not the complete text.

The top picture is Santiago Calatrava, not Frank Gehry. I served in Valencia for the last 4 months of my mission and fell in love with his work.

[Mormon Red Death]

I saw Geary's Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. The exterior it 100% titanium.

I've been there too.

[I.J. Reilly]

Some of the buildings on campus are cool, though. The Tanner Building, for example....if I had to spend a lot of time in a building, I was glad it was that one. there is a fairly new building on campus....just West of the HBLL, right by the Naked Indian (www.thenakedindian.com)....it is pretty cool looking....lots of glass and fountains. not sure which building that is but my daughter and I explored it a bit when we were there last week.

I believe you are talking about the Joseph F. Smith Building. Here is a picture:


and another from the inside:


This is the newest of the classroom buildings with the Hinckley Building (alumni center) being the newest building:


These last couple of buildings seem to show them trying to put forth some sort of style. The JFSB actually has a nice courtyard with a fountain and the inside is a nice place to sit and study. I don't know what to do with the rest of the fallout shelter architecture that is on campus but your suggestion to grow ivy on it seems as good as any to me.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I believe you are talking about the Joseph F. Smith Building. Here is a picture:


and another from the inside:


This is the newest of the classroom buildings with the Hinckley Building (alumni center) being the newest building:


These last couple of buildings seem to show them trying to put forth some sort of style. The JFSB actually has a nice courtyard with a fountain and the inside is a nice place to sit and study. I don't know what to do with the rest of the fallout shelter architecture that is on campus but your suggestion to grow ivy on it seems as good as any to me.

Although the new SFLC is better than the old SFLC by a mile, I think that building is kind of a mistake. The glass part between the brick just doesn't seem to work together.

I always kind of liked the testing center building. That corner of campus was the only one with any character it seemed like, yet my experience was limited to taking tests. I thought the renovation on the Eyring building was well done and that building is respectable.

I'm just disappointed that BYU continued to compound the tan-orange brick mistake with the Benson building and new JSB all the way through the mid-90s (actually, I have no idea what the old JSB looked like). The Hinkley Alumni building looks great and is definitely a step in the right direction.