In the center of Bilbao, Spain, the Guggenheim Museum opened in 1998, gaining more publicity in the year it opened than any other building that year. The reason for the extreme exposure of the museum had much to do with the incredibly abstract, contemporary and remarkable design for the building, which did not conform to traditional architecture standards at the time.
The designer of the building, Frank Gehry, began to experiment with his unique style in the late 1970’s using “non-traditional forms and using found objects to create collage-like models.” His style has become characterized as an example of“Deconstructivism,” a development of postmodern architecture that borrows greatly from the idea of fragmentation and is defined by:
-An unfinished or broken looking appearance
-A combination of formal compositions standards with a sort of disjointed aesthetic
-The non-use of rectangular forms and surfaces to create a distorted look
-Shape and forms grouped incongruently together
The building’s lack of uniformity raised its profile tremendously worldwide, and because the building was located in the Basque region of Spain which was commonly recognized as a region of political strife for years, it gave a sense of pride and calm to the people of the region, and in 2002, tourism in Bilbao reportedly increased five-fold with 80% of all tourists coming mainly to see the museum.
The success ultimate of the Guggenheim Museum was due mostly to the boldness of Gehry’s design in taking standards and completely turning them on their head. It proved people’s readiness to embrace something so different, and ultimately brought on a sense of change. Shortly after it’s opening, Time Magazine declared the Guggenheim Museum as “The Building of the Century.”
Posted By: Rob Goodman
Sources:
Friedman, Mildred ed. (1999). Gehry Talks: Architecture + Process. New York, NY: Rizzoli International.
Image retrieved from http://www.worldenough.net/picture/English/lab/Lab_street/3.cypriot_abroad.htm
The designer of the building, Frank Gehry, began to experiment with his unique style in the late 1970’s using “non-traditional forms and using found objects to create collage-like models.” His style has become characterized as an example of“Deconstructivism,” a development of postmodern architecture that borrows greatly from the idea of fragmentation and is defined by:
-An unfinished or broken looking appearance
-A combination of formal compositions standards with a sort of disjointed aesthetic
-The non-use of rectangular forms and surfaces to create a distorted look
-Shape and forms grouped incongruently together
The building’s lack of uniformity raised its profile tremendously worldwide, and because the building was located in the Basque region of Spain which was commonly recognized as a region of political strife for years, it gave a sense of pride and calm to the people of the region, and in 2002, tourism in Bilbao reportedly increased five-fold with 80% of all tourists coming mainly to see the museum.
The success ultimate of the Guggenheim Museum was due mostly to the boldness of Gehry’s design in taking standards and completely turning them on their head. It proved people’s readiness to embrace something so different, and ultimately brought on a sense of change. Shortly after it’s opening, Time Magazine declared the Guggenheim Museum as “The Building of the Century.”
Posted By: Rob Goodman
Sources:
Friedman, Mildred ed. (1999). Gehry Talks: Architecture + Process. New York, NY: Rizzoli International.
Image retrieved from http://www.worldenough.net/picture/English/lab/Lab_street/3.cypriot_abroad.htm
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