Frank Gehry (1929–2025) was one of the most influential architects and designers of the modern era. Renowned for transforming buildings and everyday objects into expressive, undulating works of sculpture, he broke free from rigid modernist conventions. Whether working with titanium sheets, chain link fencing, or humble corrugated cardboard, Gehry approached every scale with playful curiosity and structural daring.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Gehry moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1947. He studied architecture at the University of Southern California before completing postgraduate studies in urban planning at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. After working with Victor Gruen Associates in Los Angeles and André Remondet in Paris, he established his own practice, Frank Gehry & Associates, in Los Angeles in 1962.
Easy Edges & The Wiggle Side Chair (1972): While building architectural scale models in his studio, Gehry discovered that layering corrugated cardboard in alternating directions created remarkable structural strength. Between 1969 and 1972, he developed Easy Edges, a furniture collection that turned everyday packaging material into fluid, tactile seating. Although Gehry initially halted production out of concern that the series' runaway popularity would overshadow his architecture, Vitra acquired the rights in 1986. Today, the Vitra Wiggle Side Chair and Wiggle Stool remain enduring design classics, celebrated for their sculptural silhouette and surprising durability.
The Vitra Design Museum (1989): Beyond furniture, Vitra commissioned Gehry to design a home for its growing archive of historic chairs on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Completed in 1989, the Vitra Design Museum was Gehry’s very first building in Europe. Composed of an expressive, white-plastered collage of towers, ramps, and cubes topped with a zinc roof, the building marked a pivotal evolution in his sculptural language—paving the way for later global icons such as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Walt Disney Concert Hall. Gehry also went on to design the adjacent Vitra factory building and the Vitra Center headquarters in Birsfelden, Switzerland.
