Frank Gehry, considered one of the most influential architects of the century, has died at the age of 96.
Gehry is known for his avant-garde, experimental style of architecture. His titanium-clad design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in Spain brought him fame in 1997.
He cemented his bold reputation several years earlier when he redesigned his own home in Santa Monica, California, using materials such as chain-link fencing, plywood and corrugated steel.
“Gery is survived by two daughters from his first marriage, Leslie and Bryna, his wife Berta Isabel Aguilera and two sons, Alejandro and Samuel,” his chief of staff Meaghan Lloyd told the BBC on Friday.
Gehry was born in Toronto in 1929. He moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to study architecture at the University of Southern California.
When he opened his own firm, he abandoned traditional architectural principles of symmetry, using unconventional forms and materials in a style now known as deconstructivism.
His work in Bilbao put him in great demand, and he went on to design iconic structures in cities around the world: the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in Chicago, the Gehry Tower in Germany and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.
