Throughout the floor plan, Gehry incorporates a wide range of materials, from the more industrial (like corrugated metal and plywood) to more conventional residential materials. This eclectic mix contributes to the house's distinctive aesthetic.
To understand the floor plan of the Gehry Residence, one must understand its primary conceptual driver: the collision of two distinct architectural eras.
+--------------------------------------------------------+ | NEW EXTENSION SHELL | | +--------------------------------------------------+ | | | ORIGINAL HOUSE | | | | | | | | [Traditional Rooms Turned Interior Spaces] | | | | | | | +--------------------------------------------------+ | | | | [New Intertwined Spaces: Kitchen, Dining, Asphalt] | +--------------------------------------------------------+
The use of materials like chain-link fencing, corrugated metal, and exposed studs gives the house a "porosity" that challenges typical residential conventions. 4. Key Elements and Materials in the Plan
Gehry paved the floor of this new extension with black asphalt, intentionally bringing the texture of the driveway and the urban streetscape inside the house. This material choice completely subverts the traditional domestic floor plan, making the kitchen feel like an outdoor alleyway trapped between the old house facade and the new corrugated metal exterior wall. 2. The Original Core gehry residence floor plan
Gehry Residence in Santa Monica, California, renovated between 1977 and 1978, is a seminal work of deconstructivist architecture where Frank Gehry wrapped a new, industrial house around an existing 1920s suburban Dutch Colonial bungalow
This creates unique internal vistas where walls act as screens rather than solid barriers. 3. The Glass Cube and Light Wells
Moving up to the first floor, the floor plan shifts toward a more private, yet equally fragmented, arrangement of spaces.
The most striking element of the floor plan is the creation of "in-between" spaces. Because the new outer walls do not align with the old house’s walls, the plan is filled with awkward, triangular gaps and corridors. Throughout the floor plan, Gehry incorporates a wide
The upper floor of the Gehry Residence maintains a quieter, more private function while still reflecting the home's experimental spirit. The second story, which contains the original bungalow's roof structure that was left largely intact, was later remodeled to include a spacious . This master suite, along with the children's bedrooms (converted from the original bungalow's dining room during the 1978 project), serves as the family's private retreat, while the geometry of the new construction provides the feeling of seclusion despite the home's corner-lot location. Extending from this level, the design creates vast rooftop terraces on top of the extensions, offering private exterior spaces for the family.
The Gehry Residence is a manifestation of Frank Gehry's design philosophy, which emphasizes:
The new interstitial spaces between the old exterior walls and the new industrial outer walls became the new public zones of the home.
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The Gehry Residence (1978) isn't just a home; it's a manifesto. It challenged the very definition of what a floor plan should look like.
The Blueprint of Deconstructivism: Analyzing the Gehry Residence Floor Plan
The Gehry Residence floor plan is highly celebrated in architectural history because it pioneered several spatial strategies that defied mid-century modernist conventions: Collapsed Boundaries
The Gehry Residence in Santa Monica, California, designed by architect Frank Gehry for his family in 1978, stands as a premier example of Deconstructivist architecture. Rather than building a new structure from scratch, Gehry wrapped a traditional, two-story Dutch Colonial house built in 1920 with a radical envelope of unconventional materials like corrugated metal, chain-link fencing, and raw plywood. The resulting floor plan is a masterclass in spatial tension, colliding the predictable, organized past with an explosive, non-linear present. The Core Concept: A House Within a House