98% of Everything That is Built Today is Pure Sh*t - Frank Gehry

[hawc]

This is the quote from Frank Gehry.

Let me tell you one thing. In this world we are living in, 98 per cent of everything that is built and designed today is pure shit. There's no sense of design, no respect for humanity or for anything else. They are damn buildings and that's it. Once in a while, however, there's a small group of people who does something special. Very few. But good god, leave us alone! We are dedicated to our work. I don't ask for work. I don't have a publicist. I'm not waiting for anyone to call me. I work with clients who respect the art of architecture.

 

[freshcutgrass]

I think it's already a very well known fact that Gehry doesn't suffer fools.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Gehry might be more discerning with the 98%, but Alsop said something along similar lines years ago - I think he made the comment, and I paraphrase, that 90% of buildings in the US is sh*t.

AoD

 

[typezed]

I can see his statement as fair if colourful response to aggressive questioning about the value of his work, and there's certainly need for architects like Gehry to push the boundaries of what is possible, but saying 98% of buildings are shit is like saying 98% of cars on the road are shit because they're not Porsche or Ferrarri. Much of the discussion here also has the same bias for the big money world, with all the clamouring for iconic and the best materials possible and the whinging about cheapening out. I'd rather architecture focus on making housing modest but liveable, affordable without being cruel. I'd rather not see people, whether middle-class families or the poor, being strapped by housing costs. But maybe that requires cultural change on how we view housing more than it requires a new path from starchitects. I get more excited seeing experiments in tiny houses or modest midrise developments for families living in walkable community than I do by this bubble of big hair luxury developments for investors.

 

[junctionist]

Frank Gehry could have changed mainstream architecture any way he wanted in his life, but his more expensive and complicated style didn't encourage others to take up his values and imitate him. Modernists like Le Corbusier and Mies made their style look attractive, effortless and affordable.

They had thousands of imitators because it doesn't take that much to imitate and still have something that functions properly and looks decent. We've even returned to their way of doing things--with a few lessons learned about urbanism from Jane Jacobs and the traditionalists. Gehry will go down as one of the greatest architects in history, but there are legitimate reasons why his style hasn't made any impact at all on most new buildings.

 

[howl]

Frank Gehry could have changed mainstream architecture any way he wanted in his life, but his more expensive and complicated style didn't encourage others to take up his values and imitate him. Modernists like Le Corbusier and Mies made their style look attractive, effortless and affordable.

They had thousands of imitators because it doesn't take that much to imitate and still have something that functions properly and looks decent. We've even returned to their way of doing things--with a few lessons learned about urbanism from Jane Jacobs and the traditionalists. Gehry will go down as one of the greatest architects in history, but there are legitimate reasons why his style hasn't made any impact at all on most new buildings.

I agree. Gehry need to give us his definition of sh*t. If he is implying that everyone should be living in titanium snowflakes then he is the biggest fool of them all. Architecture is primarily about function and efficiency. Once you get those things worked out, then you can start thinking about making buildings attractive.

I personally don't like most of Gehry's buildings because of their lack of functionality and spacial efficiency. I think they will eventually come to be seen as anachronisms of late-20th century, much like brutalism has become an anachronism of the mid-20th century. They are like the blingy frilly shirt you had as teenager that you would never wear today, but the old comfy sweater you still have will serve you for decades.

 

[Jonny5]

Who?

Lisa [about her building's name]: All right. Now all we need is a name.
Ghery: How about Blabbermouth, the jerky building for jerks?
Lisa: How about Minerva, after the Roman goddess of wisdom?
Stacy Lavelle: Ehh, not enough commercial appeal.
Ghery: Wendy Windbag Centre? Ugly Doris Place? Hortense the Mule-Faced Tower!
Stacy Lavelle: I think we should name her after Lisa. We'll call it Lisa Lionheart Plaza.
Ghery: No, Loudmouth Lisa Plaza! Stupid Lisa Garbage Face Plaza! [no one listens] I can't stand this any longer. Somebody please pay attention to me! Hello, pay attention to me! Look at me! I'm Ghery, I'm Frank Ghery! Rich people pay me money to build them shitty buildings! Look at me, look at me, look at me!

 

[salsa]

Gehry might be more discerning with the 98%, but Alsop said something along similar lines years ago - I think he made the comment, and I paraphrase, that 90% of buildings in the US is sh*t.

AoD

To be fair, if you include all the dreck that you find in suburbia, then it actually is pretty close to 90%, or even 98%.

 

[TrickyRicky]

I can't resist the temptation to say at least Gehry didn't include his own design when commenting how only a couple of buildings in Toronto are worth saving .

Gehry deserves his accolades because he makes the world we live in a better place. I would not want him to be designing our cities though.

 

[pman]

To be fair, if you include all the dreck that you find in suburbia, then it actually is pretty close to 90%, or even 98%.

View attachment 36518

Hey, that looks like a perfect place for a subway, folks.

 

[nfitz]

So says the guy that thinks a chain-link fence is an architectural feature.

 

[hawc]

I think Gehry did a nice job on the front of the AGO, but I hate the blue titanium rear.

Why did it it have to be blue?

It looks like titanium that hasn't had its protective shrink wrap pulled off.

 

[junctionist]

The coloured titanium is fantastic. Blue is a universally liked colour, so it was a good choice.

 

[hawc]

No it looks tacky and dated already. Nobody likes it. It was a bad choice.

 

[typezed]

I like it. Like how it stands out as a terminus for the street. Like how it backdrops the park and the Grange. Like how the staircase sits on it. Anything not being to someone's particular preference, because nothing will be appreciated by everyone, isn't really part of the question as to whether most buildings are worthwhile or not.