Frank Gehry, the 92-year-old Pritzker-winning architect, is too busy to retire.
Frank has myriad designs underway, most of which have been proceeding. His projects in California include a Los Angeles version of New York’s High Line, along the Los Angeles River; new office buildings for Warner Bros. in Burbank; and the scenic design he’s doing for the jazz opera “Iphigenia,” by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding, which is heading to the Kennedy Center in December. Nearly 3,000 miles away, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is set to unveil its Gehry-designed renovation and interior expansion in May (an event the architect plans to attend).
Asked whether, given his age and accomplishments, he has considered taking a break or scaling back, Gehry dismissed the idea. “What would I do?” he said. “I enjoy this stuff.”
The architect said he had now reached a point in his career where he had the luxury of focusing on what matters to him most: projects that promote social justice.
Gehry’s increasing emphasis on giving back seems to have intensified his commitment to Los Angeles. He is, for example, designing housing on Wilshire Boulevard for homeless veterans. And about six years ago, he and the activist Malissa Shriver founded Turnaround Arts: California, a nonprofit that brings arts education to the state’s neediest schools. He has also volunteered his time in designing a new home for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s youth-focused educational arm, Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, in the Inglewood Civic Center south of the city, which is to be completed in June.
“These are labors of love.”
-Frank Gehry
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