The designers Gehry, Starck & Trubridge
Frank Gehry (1929-) Frank Gehry was born Frank Owen Goldberg in Toronto, Canada on February 28, 1929. He studied at the University of Southern California and Harvard University. Gehry, based in Los Angeles since the 1960s, is among the most acclaimed architects of the 20th century, and is known for his use of bold, postmodern shapes and unusual fabrications. Gehry's most famous designs include the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Lost Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
After leaving Harvard, Frank Gehry returned to California, making a name for himself with the launch of his "Easy Edges" cardboard furniture line. The Easy Edges pieces, crafted from layers of corrugated cardboard, sold between 1969 and 1973. Still primarily interested in building rather than furniture design, Gehry remodeled a home for his family in Santa Monica with the money earned from Easy Edges. The remodel involved surrounding the existing bungalow with corrugated steel and chain-link fence, effectively splitting the house open with an angled skylight. Gehry's avant-garde design caught the attention of the architectural world, ultimately launching his career to new heights. He began designing homes in Southern California on a regular basis in the 1980s.a Gehry s Wiggle Side Chair from the Easy Edges cardboard furniture line.
As Gehry achieved celebrity status, his work took on a grander scale. His high-concept buildings, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, the Dancing House in Prague and the Guggenheim Museum building in Bilbao, Spain, have become tourist attractions in their own right. In 2011, Gehry returned to his roots as a residential designer, unveiling his first skyscraper, 8 Spruce Street in New York City, and the Opus Hong Kong tower in China. Walt Disney Concert Hall The Santa Monica home, like much of Gehry's work, is an example of the Deconstructivist style a poststructuralist aesthetic that challenges accepted design paradigms of architecture while breaking with the modernist ideal of form following function.
Gehry is known for his choice of unusual materials as well as his architectural philosophy. His selection of materials such as corrugated metal lends some of Gehry's designs an unfinished or even crude aesthetic. This consistent aesthetic has made Gehry one of the most distinctive and easily recognizable designers of the recent past. Critics of Gehry s work have charged, however, that his designs are not thoughtful of contextual concerns and frequently do not make the best use of valuable urban space. The Gehry Residence, Santa Monica, CA
Philippe Starck (1949-) Philippe Starck was born in Paris on 18 January, 1949 the son of an aircraft designer who most likely inspired the young Starck. At a very early age Starck showed enthusiasm for design. Starck studied at the École Nissim de Camondo, Paris, and in 1968 set up his first company, which produced inflatable objects. In the 1970s Starck made a reputation for himself by creating interiors for clients such as the Paris nightclubs La Main Bleue (1976) and Les Bains-Docuhes (1978). Starck lives and works in Paris.
Juicy Salif Lemon Squeezer Alessi 1990 Starck first gained international attention when he was commissioned to refurbish the private apartments in the Élysée Palace (1983 84) in Paris for French President Francois Mitterrand. He went on to design many restaurant and hotel interiors internationally. Over the course of these varied commission, he did not develop one distinct aesthetic or preference for certain materials. Rather, he addressed the needs of an individual client. Some constants did develop in Starck s work, however, such as a preference for fluid, organic forms and the inclusion of subtle, playful details.
Parallel to his career as an interior designer, Starck developed an international reputation on the basis of his wide range of industrial designs. Often displaying the same organic, fluid lines of his interiors, the varied products he designed on commission included boats for Bénéteau, mineral-water bottles for Glacier, kitchen appliances notably the Juicy Salif juicer for Alessi, toothbrushes for Fluocaril, luggage for Samsonite, Urban Fittings for Decaux, office furniture for Vitra, televisions for Thomson Multimedia, watches for Fossil, eyeglasses for Alain Mikli, and the Optical Mouse for Microsoft. Rejecting design simply for the sake of beauty or as a symbol of wealth, Starck hoped that his work would improve people s lives by adding an element of humour and surprise to everyday acts such as brushing one s teeth or cooking. The designer himself was often featured in ads for his products, since his flamboyant, lighthearted personality embodied the message of his work. Louis Ghost chair Kartell 2002 Dr. Kiss Toothbrush -- Alessi (1986)
David Trubridge (1951-) Trubridge is a world-wide acclaimed designer known for his iconic range of furniture and lighting. In 1972 Trubridge graduated from New Castle University in England with a degree in Naval Architecture (boat design). For the next ten years Trubridge taught himself how to make furniture whilst working part time as a forester.
Trubridge dreamt about taking his family on an open ended adventure. In 1981 they sold everything and began a sea voyage around the world on Trubridge s own yacht Hornpipe. When they stopped in different ports around the world Trubridge would work and make commissioned furniture pieces for expatriates. After five years of travelling the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean they settled in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Floral light by David Trubridge Float by David Trubridge
Spiral Island installation by David Trubridge Life in New Zealand led to regular sea expeditions exploring the local area. During these travels Trubridge developed a deep love fort he Pacific Ocean and his work began to reflect this sea connection. A great example of this is Canoe Chair which now graces the entrance of The New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo. Later Trubridge and his family moved to Hawke s Bay and Trubridge became the artist in residence at Hawke s Bay Polytechnic. Trubridge built and designed his new family home which led to more work in the field of architecture.
Trubridge kept creating beautiful furniture and designs and began to create a name for himself by winning awards. Trubridge curated a national exhibition called Furniture in Context and exhibited Body Raft 98. This was then exhibited in the 2001 Milan Furniture Fair and picked up by the Italian Manufacturer Cappelini. This set in motion the transformation of Trubridge s company from a small scale local business to one of international recognition manufacturing and selling to a world-wide market. Trubridge has a passion for nature and the environment which was intensified by his time at sea. Trubridge and his company s ethos includes not wasting precious resources or damaging the environment. They are dedicated to using sustainable materials, leaving wood as natural as possible and only treating it with nontoxic oils.
Zaha Hadid (1950-2016) Born in Baghdad Iraq in 1950, Zaha Hadid commenced her college studies at the American University in Beirut, in the field of mathematics. Hadid moved to London in 1972 to study architecture at the Architectural Association and upon graduation in 1977, she joined the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). She began her own practice in London in 1980 and won the prestigious competition for the Hong Kong Peak Club, a leisure and recreational center in 1983. Painting and drawing, especially in Hadid s early period, are important techniques of investigation for her design work. Known as an architect who consistently pushes the boundaries of architecture and urban design, her work experiments with new spatial concepts intensifying existing urban landscapes and encompassing all fields of design, from the urban scale to interiors and furniture.
Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, Azerbaijan Riverside Museum, Glasgow, UK The MAXXI, National Museum of the 21st Century Arts, Rome, Italy.