Frank Gehry, one of the most influential and widely recognized architects of the past six decades, has died at his home in Santa Monica at the age of 96. His chief of staff, Meaghan Lloyd, confirmed that the cause was a brief respiratory illness. Gehry's death marks the passing of a designer whose work transformed not only architectural culture but the global imagination of what a building could be.
Born Frank Owen Goldberg in Toronto in 1929, Gehry established his Los Angeles practice in 1962 and soon became known for a radically expressive approach that challenged conventional ideas of form, authorship, and materiality. His 1978 renovation of his own Santa Monica residence—an ordinary bungalow enveloped in plywood, corrugated metal, and chain link—announced his independent voice and aligned him with the artistic experimentation of Southern California. The project became a touchstone of early Deconstructivism and signaled the beginning of a career defined by risk, invention, and critical provocation.
Gehry rose to international prominence with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, completed in 1997. Its titanium-clad, undulating silhouette reshaped the waterfront of the Basque city and introduced a new paradigm of architectural impact—one that combined emotional power, technological innovation, and urban transformation. Fellow architect Philip Johnson famously called it "the greatest building of our time." The museum's success generated what became known as the "Bilbao Effect," demonstrating the capacity of cultural architecture to catalyze economic revitalization and global attention.
Over the past decades, Gehry Partners continued to deliver major commissions worldwide, including projects for Facebook, the Luma Foundation, and the ongoing Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. His influence extended far beyond individual buildings: he helped redefine architectural software, reenergized public interest in contemporary design, and inspired generations of architects to explore new forms and languages.
Gehry is survived by his wife, Berta; their sons, Sam and Alejandro; his daughter Brina; and his sister, Doreen Gehry Nelson. His daughter from his first marriage, Leslie Gehry Brenner, died in 2008.
