The Architect: A relatively dark conversation with Frank Gehry

LOS ANGELES--Frank Gehry is 77,
white haired, paunchy, and when we talked one afternoon in late autumn
the topics of age and death never seemed far off. Mr. Gehry is, of
course, one of the world's great architects, creator of the Guggenheim
museum in Bilbao and enough of an icon to have been among the
personalities featured in Apple's "Think Different" campaign.

Describing what it takes for him
to accept a commission, Mr. Gehry says, "The determining factor is: Can
I get it done while I am still alive?" Explaining why he doesn't build
houses any more, Mr. Gehry says, "They involve a lot of personal hand
holding. I guess at my age I don't have the patience."

Probably more than most
architects, one sees Mr. Gehry's buildings--buildings that have been
described as resembling ruffling sails or looking like they are
melting--and has a sense that there is a single personality behind
them.

"I don't know why people hire
architects and then tell them what to do," Mr. Gehry says. "Architects
have to become parental. They have to learn to be parental." By this he
means that an architect has to listen to his client but also remain
firm about what the architect knows best, the aesthetics of a building.
This, Mr. Gehry says, is what makes an architect relevant in the
process that leads to a completed building. "I think a lot of my
colleagues lose it, lose that relevance in the spirit of serving their
client, so that no matter what, they are serving the client. Even if
the building they produce, that they think serves the client, doesn't
really serve the client because it's not very good."