Frank Gehry: An Architecture of Joy

The library’s streaming platform, Kanopy offers some fabulous content. An Architecture of Joy, a documentary on American architect Frank Gehry, is one such film. 

In a candid approach to the architect’s work, the documentary centres around construction of the DG Bank in Berlin’s Pariser Platz. Officially released in 2000, the documentary also coincides with the bank’s opening. The other significant work in the film, is Gehry’s astonishing Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. These are both important in Gehry’s legacy, as they synthesise elements of his earlier work into something broader, not only in scale but also in ideas and forms.

Throughout the film, questions about the significance of architecture, its role in everyday life and Gehry’s personal philosophy toward his profession are explored and what becomes apparent, is that architecture for him is a mode of expression that brings together art, civic life, spirituality, creativity and joy to name a few of its aspects. As Gehry himself says,

“I think we need- man, people, women, kids- need some kind of spiritual sustenance, and I think that if you're not willing to accept it philosophically, as a member of a particular religion, that the feelings engendered by a building can have that effect. But a lot of our buildings are lifeless; they may do everything, they say everything, they're technologically great, but they don't have any feeling. And so that's the issue for me, is how to connect with humanity, and how to make a building that moves people.”

In looking at Gehry’s design trajectory, the documentary features some important periods of work in which he was able to evolve his ideas into the astonishing buildings of his later career. Pivotal to this growth was embracing computer assisted programming. This enabled him to realise many things, the curved surfaces of his drawings amongst the most significant as they freed him to create previously unrealised structures. 

Frank Gehry: An Architecture of Joy is a fascinating insight into the creative processes and artistic philosophies of one of the twentieth century’s more significant and imaginative architects.  

Rosh