World renown architect Frank Gehry was recognized by outgoing President Obama for his outstanding work in design and architecture with the highest honor a president can bestow upon a citizen. Gehry received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the company of a prestigious group of 20 peers who range from physicists and engineers to actors and comedians.
Gehry, who served as professor of architecture at USC, has influenced a wide swathe of designers with his epic architectural achievements, including the Los Angeles Disney Concert Hall, which helped transform downtown L.A. into a cosmopolitan force to be reckoned with.
Frank Gehry helped transform LA Downtown with the LA Disney Concert Hall. Photo courtesy of LA Philharmonic.
But he is most widely recognized for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao Spain. Here, Gehry fused titanium, glass and limestone to erect a spectacular structure that, to this day, is hailed as a triumph for architecture. Even in the larger canon of Guggenheim structures around the world, the Guggenheim Bilbao stands alone as an icon.
Frank Gehry is widely known for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Photo courtesy of Guggenheim Museum.
The 87-year-old has no plans of slowing down either. He is currently working on, among other commissions, the L.A. River Revitalization Project.
