The Canadian-American, Pritzker prize-winning architect was first introduced to making furniture in 1954 while serving in the U.S. army.
He is now based in L.A, his buildings and also his private residence have now become tourist attractions.
Frank designed and invented cardboard chairs in the 70s and 80s. Layers of corrugated cardboard, reinforced by laminating, created an inventive, environmentally conscious, lowbrow alternative to designer furniture that appealed both to architectural artists and middle-class families.
Gehry wanted to use an unconventional material to build innovative chairs to disrupt the highbrow design community's expectations of furniture. His first series, made in 1969-72, was entitled "Easy Edges." He utilized corrugated cardboard's intrinsic strength, pliability, and visual appeal to make simple chairs that ordinary people could use in their dining room, kitchen, porch, or office. With names like "Wiggle Side Chair" and "Easy Edges Side Chair," he actually marketed to middle-class homeowners in department stores by pricing them within their budget. Rather than looking modular or rectilinear, these chairs curve, bend, and squiggle in flowing, wavy lines.
Later, Gehry expanded his side chair designs to make grand, rolling recliner cardboard chairs with ottomans, These look rougher, with offset and stepped corrugations, almost resembling rattan with their natural cardboard brown color. This series was less utilitarian, as the large chairs were meant to be displayed in art galleries, but they also pushed the conceptual boundaries of the purpose of cardboard.
LINKS
wikipedia.com/frankgehry
www.arcspace.com/gehry_new/
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