PeterRS Posted 5 hours ago Posted 5 hours ago Frank Gehry created iconic buildings and is acknowledged as one of the greatest architects of our tim. He was in his 60s when he was given the commission to design the new Guggenheim Museum in the Spanish city of Bilbao. Using titanium for much of the exterior, that one building transformed what was then basically an industrial backwater into a tourism and industrial hub. In a city few had visited, the Frank Gehry designed museum drew 1.3 million visitors last year, mostly from outside Spain. In the USA, Walt Disney's widow had given the Los Angeles Philharmonic US$50 million as the lead donation for the construction of a new concert hall in downtown LA. After much wrangling, Gehry was chosen as the architect. Again using titanium, the building was opened in 2003 and has since become a landmark in the city. The Walt Disney Concert Hall https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/05/style/architect-frank-gehry-dies Quote
a-447 Posted 4 hours ago Posted 4 hours ago I was travelling around Spain in 2019 and made a special trip up to Bilbao just to see the museum. The building was jaw-dropping, both outside and inside, and well worth the 5 hour bus trip from Salamanca. Luckily, the bus had a business class section, which made the journey bearable. The exhibitions inside were pretty boring and not worth the admission fee. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Jeff Koons' "The Puppy" flower sculpture on the square outside the museum. Koons is also famous for marrying an Italian pornstar! He made a series of sculptures featuring their sex life called 'Made in Heaven'. Also, Louise Bougeois' giant spider 'maman' is outside. Quote
