Frank O. Gehry, the innovative master architect and prolific designer whose organically shaped, steel-covered Walt Disney Concert Hall transformed the landscape of downtown Los Angeles, died at his Santa Monica home Friday at age 96.
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His death followed a brief respiratory illness, Gehry Partners chief of staff Meaghan Lloyd said.
Gehry, who won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1989, is considered the most recognizable American architect since Frank Lloyd Wright. Among the first architects to embrace the potential of computer design, he pioneered a lively style that used a variety of materials.
Along with Disney Hall, his most famous works include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, a titanium-clad building that received international acclaim on its opening in 1997.
Other notable works are Miami's New World Center, a concert hall finished in 2011; and the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a museum in Paris completed in 2014.
"Frank Gehry didn't just design buildings -- he created spaces that lift up artists and have brought generations of people together," L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn posted on X as word spread Friday of Gehry's passing.
"His design of the SELA Cultural Center on the LA River will be a lasting gift to the families of Southeast LA. We've lost a giant. Thank you, Frank."
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