As international real estate professionals, we are inspired by buildings in all their diversity. To us, they are far more than brick and mortar; they are expressions of vision and quality of life. That is why we are fascinated by personalities who radically rethink architecture, such as Frank O. Gehry, who passed away in December 2025 at the age of 96.

Often described as the Picasso of architecture, Gehry pushed boundaries like few others. He broke with the notion that walls must be straight and roofs flat, and he used aerospace engineering software to create buildings that resemble flowing sculptures of titanium and glass, almost weightless in appearance. His roots, however, were surprisingly down to earth: his sensitivity to materials developed in his grandfather’s hardware store, where as a child he built miniature cities from leftover wood scraps. Before revolutionizing the architectural world, he earned a living as a truck driver.

Alongside global landmarks such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Gehry also made a statement in residential architecture. His own house in Santa Monica became legendary: he deconstructed an ordinary bungalow and reassembled it in an angular, unconventional way using corrugated metal and chain link fencing. It proved that visionary thinking works just as powerfully on a small scale.

His most enduring legacy remains the Bilbao Effect. He demonstrated that a single extraordinary building can revitalize an entire region economically. Frank O. Gehry taught us that courage in form can sustainably enhance the value of a location.