#HTE

Frank Gehry on His Formative Experiences

Rank these in order of which you think is most interesting:

1. Hearing a designer talk about their work
2. Hearing a designer explain how they got started
3. Hearing a designer describe their formative experiences

For me it’s definitely 3, 2, 1. It’s fascinating to hear what things a prominent creative did and saw in their childhood and youth that caused them to pursue their chosen profession.

This Fortune interview with Frank Gehry is great because he talks a lot about #3. He also touches on how software evolution helped demystify the construction of complicated curves, which then reduced cost, and mentions an accidental discovery of a material property that influenced his design of the Guggenheim in Bilbao:

The full print interview is even more interesting; who knew Gehry once worked as a truck driver, was drafted into the army, and had to change his last name? Read it here.