Further Research

Frank Owen Gehry - Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao went through many different designs, modifications and ideas before it became what it is in the present time. The designing, building to the opening of the museum spanned six to seven years in total. From Gehry's first proper site visit in 1991 till the opening date of the Museum in 1997, the museum underwent many changes, many sketches, ideas, models and renders to get to its final stage.




Frank Gehry's initial ideas where enacted through simple pen and paper sketches. Within these sketches Gehry’s contained perception of the site, interactions, visions, relations to the structural and the natural context. His annotations also helped with to bring out his ideas together with the sketches. As time went by, different concepts were bought into his design sketches which then formed the current shapes of the building itself. Gehry tends to sketch roughly and then when it comes to separating components or analyzing space, Gehry uses colour within his sketches to provide a more visual representations to help his designs.

The following are some of Gehry's sketches themselves.

Initial sketches, further plans, sections and elevations sketches.

In the book by Coosje Van Bruggen, Bruggen states that "Gehry aspires to engage people in a physical manner in his buildings, through refraction of the buildings components into human scale, issues of comfort, and the application of tactile materials." And for Gehry to accomplish this, he relied mainly on sketches until models – which he believes are stylized and artificial and not be very effective for his ideas, becomes sketch-like and free. However, Gehry also states that “often the models take me down a blind aley and I go back to sketches again. They become the vehicle for propelling the project forward when I get stuck”.

Below are some representational models of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

The development of the leaf-like atrium are portrayed in this schematic models

As from these images, it can be seen that the models Gehry uses are rich in colour and textures to represent the actual materials that would be used in the final building itself. The colours that are used also tends to correspond with real world colours, which makes perception clearer. Though there still many differences between the models and the actual building itself.

A comparison of real-life and conceptual/ schematic models

Though Gehry himself stated that he does not rely or even like artificial models, in the end, Computerised / schematic models are used to solve functional problems where sketches capabilities are limited.

As with real models, the computerized models are also composed of different colours representing different components and possibly function of the area, material and structures.

Computerized models built using Catia

Below are detailed plans, and sections drawn on computer which details the museum in a more technical and structured way. The drawings are all set out in a clear and concise way, which makes reading them very straightforward and easy.

“The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao enacts an unfolding process of design. As its architect, Frank Owen Gehry says, it has had nothing to do with the magical bicycle tick, “hey ma, no hands.” Instead, he sees the process from first sketch into building as an evolution: ‘In the first sketch I put a bunch of principles down. Then I become self-critical of those images and those principles, and they evoke the next set of responses. And as each piece unfolds, I make the models bigger and bigger, bringing into focus more elements and more pieces of the puzzle. And once I have the beginning, a toehold into where I’m going, then I want to examine the parts in more detail. And those evolve, and at some point I stop, because that’s it. I don’t come to a conclusion, but I think there’s a certain reality of pressures to get the thing done that I accept. It’s maturity, or whatever you want to call it, to say stop, go, finish. I’ve got other ideas now, and the door is open for the next move, but it’s not going to happen on this building, its going to happen on the next one.’”

Frank O. Gehry Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by Coosje Van Bruggen

References

- Bruggen, Coosje V. 1998, Frank O. Gehry Guggennheim Museum Bilbao, Abrams, Harry N Inc.

- Co, Francesco D & Forster, Kurt W., 2003, Frank O. Gehry: The complete Works, Phaidon Press.