frank gehry: the cleveland clinic lou ruvo center for brain health

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frank gehry: the cleveland clinic lou ruvo center for brain health

the cleveland clinic lou ruvo center for brain health by frank gehry
AP photo / isaac brekken

the cleveland clinic lou ruvo center for brain health, designed by architect frank gehry
officially opened last friday. the building which consists of the architects signature steel forms
is a leading research centre for degenerative brain diseases.

after years of refusing to design a building in las vegas, gehry agreed to design the cleveland
clinic lou ruvo center after forming a bond with founder larry ruvo, a las vegas liquor distributor
who was compelled to start a neurological research facility after watching his father, lou, struggle
with alzheimer's.

gehry has his own personal interest in research on brain disorders. his longtime friend and analyst,
the late milton wexler, saw a wife and three sisters-in-law succumb to huntington's disease.
at wexler's request, the architect joined the board of the hereditary disease foundation more than
30 years ago.

gehry told ruvo he'd design the building only if ruvo added huntington's to the list of diseases
the new center would treat and study. the complex further expanded its offerings when the cleveland
clinic, the multidisciplinary healthcare research and treatment center in ohio, reached an agreement
with the ruvo center to operate the las vegas facility.

photo © etslee

the 100 million USD complex comprises two wings connected by an open courtyard:
a dedicated research center, located at the northern end of the building, and a ‘for-hire’
event space, dubbed the life activity center, located at the southern end. the four storey
clinic to the north, which holds medical offices, patient rooms and the research space,
is relatively straightforward consisting of a collection of stacked boxes in white stucco and glass.
the office wing, is not a pure geometric shape but a jumbled, unsettled collection of boxy forms,
stepping back as it rises and tracing a subtle arc along the streetfront.

photo © etslee

photo © etslee

photo © etslee

the road leading to the cleveland clinic lou ruvo center for brain health
photo © etslee

photo © etslee

the structure dividing the two wings
photo © etslee

the four-storey clinic
photo © etslee

the entrance
photo © etslee

the life activity center
photo © etslee

the life activity center is a soaring sculptural volume tucked beneath a signature gehry stainless
steel roof. designed as an event space, it can be rented out for parties, weddings and special
occasions with the proceeds going to fund the center’s research.

architect frank gehry stands in front of the cleveland clinic lou ruvo center for brain health
AP photo / isaac brekken

at the opening, the cleveland clinic announced its intentions to expand its focus and its presence
in las vegas beyond the ruvo center, perhaps adding cardiology services next with the future
promise of growing a full service hospital there.

for more images of gehry's lou ruvo center for brain health see etslee's flickr photostream.

ridhika db

05.28.10

worse than hundertwasser. one of the ugliest buildings i've seen in a long time!

snyggerer 05.28.10

the fassade of the four story clinic looks much better than the rest of it

ohh 05.28.10

with all the respect for Gehry, Seems that he's not able to think differently. This a center for brain health? you get sick inside this building. too much visual information.

Pegah 05.28.10

GEHRY rules!

Scott 05.28.10

cool leather jacket!

AAB 05.28.10

center for brain health? does Gehry think brains get healthier in such a building?

S 05.28.10

These sculptures of Gehry's are so tired looking and there is no thrill to them. If he had done one and moved on it would have been special.
What a waste of good money.
No more, please.

rcvs1 05.28.10

if you want to recover from mental illness, go there, I believe we can improve

roger 05.28.10

Looks like the outcome of rule #401: You can do your homework after you finish playing outside.

http://rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com

mading 05.28.10

Is this what architecture has come down to? Boxes covered with stiff tablecloth.... I´m...I´m....angry!

t 05.28.10

I live in Vegas and the materials are amazing, the architecture is awful.

UndonePhotography 05.28.10

i'd like to see what some of you critics have ever created.

louisa 05.28.10

maybe this can act as a tin foils so patients don't have to wear on their heads....brain health right? you don't want Aliens to read your minds....

V 05.28.10

to louisa,

sure some of us might have never created, but that doesn't mean we don't have the rights to ask for something timeless and not tacky...

V 05.28.10

louisa, that line doesn't really work when we're talking about a building like this. you can turn off a song, or not look at a painting, but a the clinic imposes itself on the street. if this was a mansion hidden in a forest then ghery would be freer to do what he wants, but it's not. people have to live near the clinic every day, so there's responsibility to give them something good, and it's fair to criticise

felix 05.30.10

i'm bored of this style too

i think it works a lot better when there's more context. gehry is distorting the normal form of a building, so it loses its punch when its not next to a 'normal' building.

it's kind of cool how that 6th photo coming up the road looks exactly like a crumpled model, but it's just sculpture, not architecture

jaccoss 05.30.10

For centuries i'm seeing pilled boxes (straight), being design all over the world without critics, and for a few years, twisted and bended boxes have been design by gehry and ghery need another inspiration? i don't get the point.

This kind of critics are jokes, trie to be so good and creative like gehry, and design so many different things and fight with so many people and critics, after that, the critics of gehry can talk.
util than just keep for you self the frustration, to what u would like to build and don't get.

cheers

boto 05.31.10

i agree with boto. there is a place for the GehRYs of this world. The more the better.

The world is full of restrained conservatism in architecture, ie modernism - non-artistic non-architecture. It makes cities dull, depressing and boring.

To merely say ugly is not a critique. Its a copout. What IS ugly anyway? Your ugly is my interesting.\

Good on you Gehry for helping this worthwhile cause. The mosy fun and light hearted medical building I have ever seen. Exactly what is needed.

slick box 06.01.10

I really like the concept Gehry uses for this building, it represents the brain, on side is ordered and the other creative, just like the building. I think it's a great design, I don't like everything Gehry does but the Guggenheim, the Marques de Riscal bodegas and this project are a success in my opinion.

Dustin 06.01.10

The place for the Gehrys of this world is 40 years ago. can't people just be over this already?

The only thing worse than boring architecture is boring architecture trying to look awesome... the fact that there are neat little pink and red and yellow boxes under that trillion dollar sheet of tinfoil (pics 7, 8, 9) makes me wonder.

I really hope uncle Frank's only still in the game as some sort of ironic joke... what a hipster

To be honest I'd probably be down with this building if the holes in the facade were all round instead of square.

Montgomery 06.03.10

perfect, great just as almost all his works. yes this is what architecture is up to (not "has come down to). I wonder what one means by "give something good to people" probobly something like vast majority of buildings created by so called architects that has nothing to do with architecture. partly I agree with Louisa, you guys fall far short from being able to feel art(architecture).

d 06.03.10

All the critics are underestimating Gehry’s social and artistic sensitivity… this is obviously a metaphor to remind us of the devastation caused by the Haitian earthquake.

bb for life 06.05.10

uffffff....>!!!!!

misterfa 06.05.10

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