Hasta La Ideas

News: Frank Gehry has launched his studio’s paperless system for sharing and collaborating on drawings as a scaled-up product for the architecture industry.

The GTeam software by Gehry’s technology development and consulting company Gehry Technologies is now integrated with cloud-based storage service Box, enabling Box’s customers in the fields of architecture, construction and engineering to easily access and manage blueprints, CAD files and contracts.

The paperless system was refined by Gehry’s studio during the construction of New York by Gehry (pictured), the 265-metre-high apartment building completed in 2011, where sharing digital files enabled the architects and engineers working on the tower to significantly reduce the number of expensive alterations required during construction.

Box has now scaled up the software to bring it to the wider industry and allow others to benefit in the same way, according to company CEO Aaron Levie.

“I think when you can bring these tools to the masses, it really opens up innovation in an incredible way,” he said.

The software was developed by Gehry’s studio over the decades to eliminate the need for paper.

“My dream is to do buildings paperless. And it can be done,” Gehry told technology magazine Wired. “I discovered that, using the computer, we had more information, which kept us in control and allowed us to protect the owner from a lot of waste in the process.”

GTeam can incorporate files from other design software, such as Rhino and AutoCAD, and is already being used in the offices of Zaha Hadid and SOM, according to Gehry.

In a similar mood of collaboration, Dutch firm UNStudio this week announced it will relaunch in June as an “open-source architecture studio” inspired by technology start-ups, using an online platform to encourage the exchange of ideas between its own architects and those outside the company.

Gehry was recently asked to “tone down” his plans for Facebook’s new Silicon Valley campus, while earlier this year a Utah congressman launched an attempt to scrap the architect’s proposed Washington D.C. memorial for former president Dwight D. Eisenhower – see all architecture by Frank Gehry.

Photograph are by dbox.

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News: a Utah congressman has launched an attempt to scrap architect Frank Gehry’s proposed Washington D.C. memorial honouring President Dwight D. Eisenhower, citing the project’s cost and controversial design.

Last week Rob Bishop introduced legislation seeking to reject the current design by Gehry – whose best-known buildings include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles – and invite new proposals for the memorial while eliminating $100 million of future funding.

The Canadian-born architect’s planned memorial, which is projected to cost $142 million, includes statues of the president surrounded by large woven steel “tapestries” depicting images of his childhood home in Kansas – but members of the Eisenhower family have criticised the design as too extravagant.

The congressman’s efforts to scrap the design drew strong opposition from the American Institute of Architects, which said last week that lawmakers should not attempt to censor architectural work.

“Representative Bishop’s legislation allows Congress to exercise governmental authority in a wholly arbitrary manner that negates the stated selection process,” said Robert Ivy, the institute’s chief. “It is nothing more than an effort to intimidate the innovative thinking for which our profession is recognized at home and around the globe.”

Before submitting the planning application in 2011, Gehry had insisted he would take onboard concerns voiced by the public and Eisenhower’s grandchildren about the concept and scale of the project.

Gehry recently completed a Maggie’s Centre in Hong Kong, the first of the cancer charity’s units outside of the UK. Earlier in the year he revealed proposals for a rippled 22-storey tower in his hometown of Santa Monica, California, and he’s also working on the new headquarters for internet giant Facebook.

See all architecture by Gehry or see more architecture in Washington D.C.

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Architect Frank Gehry has revisited the rippled form of his recent New York skyscraper for the design of a 22-storey tower in his hometown of Santa Monica, California.

Reminiscent of the architect’s 2011 building, New York by Gehry, the rippled tower is proposed at the sea-facing corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. The wave-like facade is intended to evoke the ocean, blue skies and clouds, and will be coloured white to match the surrounding buildings in contrast to its silver counterpart in New York.

The tower will form part of a new complex of apartments, shops, restaurants, a hotel and a museum, which will involve the renovation of two existing structures. Public pathways and plazas will run between the buildings at ground level, while a rooftop viewing platform will offer a wide-stretching panorama.

“After 25 years, I am excited to finally design a project in my hometown of 40 years,” commented Frank Gehry. “The site is on Ocean Avenue, which has always stood out to me as the face of the city.”

He added: “The addition of ground level restaurants, retail and a museum in this location has the potential to reinvigorate Ocean Avenue, and could be a catalyst for more public amenities along Ocean Avenue.”

Above: aerial view – click for larger image

Los Angeles developers M. David Paul Associates and Worthe Real Estate Group submitted their proposals to the planning authorities last week. The team had owned the majority of the site for over 30 years, but only acquired the northern section in 2007.

Frank Gehry is renowned for using rippled and curving forms in his architecture. Other projects include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. See more architecture by Gehry on Dezeen.

Above: site plan – click for larger image

Images are by Gehry Partners, LLP.

Here’s some more information from the press release:

Hotel and museum project designed by Frank Gehry unveiled for architect’s hometown of Santa Monica

For the first time in twenty­‐five years, a Gehry­‐designed project has been filed today for City review in the architect’s hometown of Santa Monica. The proposed Ocean Avenue Project is a hotel and museum campus that merges world­‐class urban design with historic preservation to create an important cultural anchor for the community. Located on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard in the heart of downtown, the project is being proposed by M. David Paul Associates and Worthe Real Estate Group, both with strong roots and involvement in Santa Monica.

The 22‐storey, 244­‐foot mixed‐use building includes a 125‐room hotel, 22 condominiums, 19 replacement rent­‐controlled units, affordable housing, a public rooftop observation deck and street‐level retail and restaurants. The project also includes a new 36,000 square­‐foot museum campus that consists of two landmarked buildings that will be adaptively reused and preserved as well as a Gehry Partners designed cultural building with exhibition space and museum plaza.

“We’ve owned the majority of this property for decades and have been searching for the right project for this very special site and for Santa Monica,” said David Paul, president of M. David Paul Associates. “We are excited about the potential to create a new cultural anchor for residents and visitors with a Gehry­‐designed building and museum campus.”

The Ocean Avenue Project was designed to be consistent with the vision and design principles of the City of Santa Monica’s Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) and the City staff’s recommendations for the Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) as well as incorporate the majority of community benefits highlighted as priorities in each. The project location has been specifically identified as a “key investment site” in LUCE and an “opportunity site” in recommendations by City staff for inclusion in the DSP. Both of these planning documents designate a limited number of sites in the downtown area that could be considered for more density and height, if the design and program of the project incorporates significant community benefits.

“Our project team has strong local roots, so we feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to create a project that brings real community and cultural benefits and positively contributes to Santa Monica’s future,” said Jeff Worthe, president Worthe Real Estate Group. “We look forward to working with the community on this exciting project.”

The Ocean Avenue Project will also strengthen the local economy and is projected to generate $72.7 million per year in direct and indirect spending, 1,394 jobs during operations and $4.0 million in new tax revenue to the City annually.

The Ocean Avenue Project’s application has been filed with the City of Santa Monica and must go through the City’s float‐up review process in front of the Planning Commission/Architectural Review Board and City Council in which a proposed project is evaluated and a determination is made on whether the project can proceed through the formal Development Agreement, environmental review and hearing and review process.

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News: architect Frank Gehry has today unveiled proposals for a major new art gallery and university complex at the centre of Toronto’s entertainment district.

Working alongside David Mirvish, director of production company Mirvish Productions, Gehry has designed three 80-85 metre-high residential towers on the top of the new buildings, which will be located beside the historic Royal Alexandra Theatre on King Street West.

The Mirvish Collection gallery will sit beneath two of the towers and house a collection of abstract art built by David and Audrey Mirvish over a period of 50 years. The neighbouring OCAD University Public Learning Centre for Visual Art, Curatorial Studies and Art History will be positioned beneath the third tower and will accommodate exhibition galleries, seminar rooms, studios and a public lecture theatre.

“It’s especially interesting that this project involves the arts,” said Gehry. “With this project, I wanted to create buildings that were good neighbours to the surrounding buildings and that respected the rich and diverse history of the area.”

Six properties currently located on the site will be preserved and maintained as part of the development, as will the Canada Walk of Fame along King Street West and Simcoe Street, but three warehouses and a small theatre are set to be demolished.

Gehry is also designing the new campus for Facebook, and recently donated $100,000 towards a new annual prize for architecture graduates.

See all our stories about Frank Gehry »

Here’s the full press release from the developers:

David Mirvish and Frank Gehry Unveil Conceptual Design to Transform Toronto’s Entertainment District

Reimagining of King Street Entertainment District Continues Mirvish Family’s Legacy While Supporting Toronto’s Thriving Cultural Corridor

Major Cultural Additions to the District Include the Mirvish Collection, a 60,000-Square-Foot Gallery Dedicated to Abstract Art, and OCAD University Facility

David Mirvish, founder of Mirvish Productions, and world-renowned architect Frank Gehry today unveiled the conceptual design for a mixed-use project that will transform Toronto’s downtown arts and entertainment district and advance the area’s future as a thriving cultural centre. The multi-year, multi-phase project is the largest and most significant urban commission to date for the Toronto-born architect, bringing new cultural, residential and retail spaces to a site immediately next to the Royal Alexandra Theatre and creating a new visual identity for the city’s premier arts district.

The Mirvish/Gehry project is the vision of David Mirvish, who through his family’s support of the arts has helped make the city a major international centre for performing arts and has transformed the downtown King Street Entertainment District. Bordered by many of Toronto’s leading cultural institutions including the Royal Alexandra Theatre and Roy Thomson Hall to the east, the Toronto International Film Festival Bell Lightbox to the west, and the John Street Cultural Corridor to the west culminating at the Art Gallery of Ontario to the north, the project will have at its centre the new Mirvish Collection museum and a new facility for OCAD University.

Frank Gehry, whose other major Canadian project is the redesigned Art Gallery of Ontario (2008), grew up in the King Street West neighbourhood, and his design relates directly to the scale, materials and feeling of the area. “We see an opportunity to join our history with Frank Gehry’s history and continue our ongoing commitment to the neighbourhood,” said David Mirvish. “This area was transformed 50 years ago after my father purchased the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and this project will continue the theatre’s future and transform the neighbourhood again for the next 50 years. I am proud that we can continue this legacy that my father began.”

“It is very special for me to be able to work in Toronto where I was born and to engage the neighbourhoods where I grew up,” said Gehry. “It’s especially interesting that this project involves the arts. That is always meaningful to me. With this project, I wanted to create buildings that were good neighbours to the surrounding buildings and that respected the rich and diverse history of the area. I also wanted to make nice places for the people who live in and visit the buildings. David has an exciting vision, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”

The Mirvish/Gehry design will create a new profile for the arts and entertainment district at the streetscape and in the skyline, add significantly to the John Street Cultural Corridor, and provide new and enhanced public spaces. The site includes the north side of King Street West and the south side of Pearl Street, occupying the entire block between John Street and Ed Mirvish Way and a portion of the block between Ed Mirvish Way and the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and consists of six properties owned by the Mirvish family. The Canada Walk of Fame, located along King West and Simcoe Streets, will be preserved and maintained. The project’s development, management and construction will be led by Peter Kofman of Projectcore Inc. in conjunction with David Mirvish.

The conceptual design, which will continue to evolve, consists of two six-story stepped podiums, which relate in scale and articulation to the neighbouring buildings, topped by three iconic residential towers, ranging in size from 80 to 85 storeys. Each tower has a complementary but distinctive design, which fits with the history and texture of the surrounding neighbourhood. The trio of towers works together to form a dynamic still life on the skyline. The west block of the plan, oriented to King Street West, features a stepped podium with the Mirvish Collection in the atrium and planted terraces that create a green silhouette overlooking King Street and Metro Square. The east block of the plan includes the preservation of the Royal Alexandra Theatre and another stepped podium housing the OCAD University facility that fronts onto King Street West.

The new 60,000-square-foot Mirvish Collection will be a destination for viewing contemporary abstract art from the exemplary collection of Audrey and David Mirvish. The collection was built over 50 years, beginning when David Mirvish ran a globally recognized art gallery in Toronto from 1963-1978. The Mirvish Collection comprises works by leading artists including Jack Bush, Anthony Caro, Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Robert Motherwell, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Larry Poons, David Smith and Frank Stella. The nonprofit Mirvish Collection, which will be free and open to the public, will present curated artist-focused exhibitions that leverage the depth of the Mirvish holdings and will be available to other institutions. It will also host traveling exhibitions.

The project incorporates a new multi-floor facility for the OCAD University Public Learning Centre for Visual Art, Curatorial Studies and Art History, including exhibition galleries, studios, seminar rooms, and a public lecture hall. The galleries will feature curatorial programming drawn from OCAD University faculty, the OCAD University Art Collection, the OCAD University Archives and the Printmaking and Publications Research and Production Centre. “Urban universities such as OCAD University contribute to and benefit from their situation within a creative city,” said Dr. Sara Diamond, OCAD University President andflivbrary Vice-Chancellor. “We are a hub for art, design, media, research, innovation and the business of creativity, and this new facility, in the heart of a transforming cultural district, is a perfect setting for OCAD University.”

As part of the plan, the Princess of Wales Theatre, owned and operated by Mirvish Productions, will be replaced along with adjacent warehouses. The artist Frank Stella, whose commissioned murals are part of the Princess of Wales Theatre, will partner with Frank Gehry to develop new work for the project, integrating art and architecture. “The Princess of Wales Theatre is a wonderful space to experience theatre, but the next step for the future of this neighbourhood is providing new kinds of cultural spaces,” said David Mirvish. “We are dedicated to providing more theatre in Toronto, not less, and through our other theatres, we will continue to provide world-class theatre experiences.”

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Dezeen Wire: architect Frank Gehry is designing the new campus for social media giant Facebook, which claims it will be the largest open-plan office in the world.

The building will accommodate 3400 engineers underneath a green roof on the edge of San Francisco Bay and construction could begin early next year.

“I’m excited to work with Frank Gehry to design our new campus,” Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted on his own Facebook timeline. “The idea is to make the perfect engineering space: one giant room that fits thousands of people, all close enough to collaborate together. It will be the largest open floor plan in the world, but it will also have plenty of private, quiet spaces as well.”

“The roof of the building will be a park that blends into the community with a long walking trail, a field and lots of places to sit. From the outside it will appear as if you’re looking at a hill in nature.”

See Facebook’s Palo Alto offices designed by Studio O+A in 2009 in our earlier story and see all our stories about Frank Gehry here.

See all our stories about technology companies »

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