News: Frank Gehry has launched his studio's paperless system for sharing and collaborating on drawings as a scaled-up product for the architecture industry.

The GTeam software by Gehry's technology development and consulting company Gehry Technologies is now integrated with cloud-based storage service Box, enabling Box's customers in the fields of architecture, construction and engineering to easily access and manage blueprints, CAD files and contracts.

The paperless system was refined by Gehry's studio during the construction of New York by Gehry (pictured), the 265-metre-high apartment building completed in 2011, where sharing digital files enabled the architects and engineers working on the tower to significantly reduce the number of expensive alterations required during construction.

Box has now scaled up the software to bring it to the wider industry and allow others to benefit in the same way, according to company CEO Aaron Levie.

"I think when you can bring these tools to the masses, it really opens up innovation in an incredible way," he said.

The software was developed by Gehry's studio over the decades to eliminate the need for paper.

"My dream is to do buildings paperless. And it can be done," Gehry told technology magazine Wired. "I discovered that, using the computer, we had more information, which kept us in control and allowed us to protect the owner from a lot of waste in the process."

GTeam can incorporate files from other design software, such as Rhino and AutoCAD, and is already being used in the offices of Zaha Hadid and SOM, according to Gehry.

In a similar mood of collaboration, Dutch firm UNStudio this week announced it will relaunch in June as an "open-source architecture studio" inspired by technology start-ups, using an online platform to encourage the exchange of ideas between its own architects and those outside the company.

Gehry was recently asked to "tone down" his plans for Facebook's new Silicon Valley campus, while earlier this year a Utah congressman launched an attempt to scrap the architect's proposed Washington D.C. memorial for former president Dwight D. Eisenhower – see all architecture by Frank Gehry.

Photograph are by dbox.

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News: Facebook asked Frank Gehry to "tone down" his original plans for its new Silicon Valley campus, according to a partner at the architect's firm.

Early proposals for the campus, which was given the go-ahead by Menlo Park City Council last week, envisioned a bold, curving facade reminiscent of well-known Gehry buildings such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

"They felt some of those things were too flashy and not in keeping with the kind of the culture of Facebook, so they asked us to make it more anonymous," said Craig Webb, a partner at Gehry's practice.

"Frank was quite willing to tone down some of the expression of architecture in the building," he told the Mercury News, explaining that they plan to disguise the white stucco building with a rooftop garden: "Our intent is that it almost becomes like a hillside, with the landscape really taking the forefront."

According to one Facebook employee, the 40,000-square-metre building will house 2,800 engineers in a single warehouse-like room.

"Just like we do now, everyone will sit out in the open with desks that can be quickly shuffled around as teams form and break apart around projects," said Facebook's environmental design manager Everett Katigbak in a blog post.

"The exterior takes into account the local architecture so that it fits in well with its surroundings. We’re planting a ton of trees on the grounds and more on the rooftop garden that spans the entire building," he added.

An underground tunnel will connect the Gehry-designed building with Facebook's existing campus over the road.

Gehry was brought in to design the campus last summer, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stating at the time that he wanted an office with "the largest open floor plan in the world".

The social networking site's former Palo Alto headquarters was completed by San Francisco firm Studio O+A in 2009.

Facebook isn't the only Californian technology company expanding into larger headquarters currently, with construction now underway on Apple's ring-shaped campus in Cupertino designed by Foster + Partners, while Google recently revealed plans for a 100,000-square-metre campus in San Francisco Bay.

Images are by Gehry Partners LLP.

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News: a Utah congressman has launched an attempt to scrap architect Frank Gehry's proposed Washington D.C. memorial honouring President Dwight D. Eisenhower, citing the project's cost and controversial design.

Last week Rob Bishop introduced legislation seeking to reject the current design by Gehry – whose best-known buildings include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles – and invite new proposals for the memorial while eliminating $100 million of future funding.

The Canadian-born architect's planned memorial, which is projected to cost $142 million, includes statues of the president surrounded by large woven steel "tapestries" depicting images of his childhood home in Kansas – but members of the Eisenhower family have criticised the design as too extravagant.

The congressman's efforts to scrap the design drew strong opposition from the American Institute of Architects, which said last week that lawmakers should not attempt to censor architectural work.

"Representative Bishop’s legislation allows Congress to exercise governmental authority in a wholly arbitrary manner that negates the stated selection process," said Robert Ivy, the institute's chief. "It is nothing more than an effort to intimidate the innovative thinking for which our profession is recognized at home and around the globe."

Before submitting the planning application in 2011, Gehry had insisted he would take onboard concerns voiced by the public and Eisenhower's grandchildren about the concept and scale of the project.

Gehry recently completed a Maggie's Centre in Hong Kong, the first of the cancer charity's units outside of the UK. Earlier in the year he revealed proposals for a rippled 22-storey tower in his hometown of Santa Monica, California, and he's also working on the new headquarters for internet giant Facebook.

See all architecture by Gehry or see more architecture in Washington D.C.

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Maggie's Hong Kong is the second Maggie's Centre by Frank Gehry, following the opening in 2003 of Maggie's Dundee in Scotland.

The centre comprises a series of pavilions with rooms overlooking a pond and gardens partly inspired by the classical gardens of Suzhou near Shanghai.

Gehry said: "[The building is] respectful of Chinese architecture and motifs. I hope it's not copying anything Chinese or architectural, but I hope it's very respectful of them.

"I was going through the loss of a daughter while I was designing the centre. I think you sort of suck it up and hope to make something that is soothing and respectful and hopeful. There's always hope, it's not a dead end."

Landscape architect Lily Jencks, who is the daughter of founders Maggie Keswick Jencks and Charles Jencks, designed the centre's garden.

We've featured lots of Maggie's Centres on Dezeen, including Steven Holl's recently revealed designs for a centre in London and OMA's Stirling Prize-nominated centre in Glasgow – see all Maggie's Centres.

Gehry recently revealed a 22-storey tower designed for his hometown of Santa Monica, California – see all architecture by Frank Gehry.

Photographs are by Pako Ko.

Here's more information from Maggie's Centre:

Secretary for Food & Health, Dr Ko Wing Man will open Maggie’s Hong Kong on Thursday, March 7.

They will join Charles Jencks, Maggie’s co-founder, Laura Lee chief executive, Keith Kerr, chairman of Maggie's Hong Kong Board of Directors and Eleanor Ling from the Keswick Foundation.

The official opening heralds a new era of cancer care and support for people with cancer across the region, bringing hope and solace to thousands.

The new purpose built Centre was designed by internationally renowned architect Frank Gehry, who also designed Maggie’s Dundee in Scotland. Maggie’s Hong Kong is the first Maggie’s Centre to be built outside of the United Kingdom.

Since December 2008 Maggie's Hong Kong has been providing an interim service at its temporary building on the ground at Tuen Mun Hospital, offering free support for anyone living with cancer including friends, family and carers. Centre visitors can take part in relaxation sessions, nutrition classes, yoga and individual and family support sessions.

The Centre’s design is a series of pavilions arranged to encourage movement between the interior and the landscape. Rooms open out to the surrounding gardens or have private terraces overlooking the pond. There is a public living and dining area that serves as the focal point of the building, with views of both the ponds and gardens. The Centre could be thought of as a Chinese garden inspired by, though not beholden to, the Suzhou tradition.

Maggie’s chief executive Laura Lee said: "This is a very special occasion, not only are we able to provide more help and support for people who are living with cancer in the region but Maggie’s Hong Kong is our first international Centre.

"Maggie’s proven programme of support will act as an antidote to the isolation and despair of a cancer diagnosis. Frank Gehry's design will help to facilitate this support, by making people feel safe, inspired and valued. Under one extraordinary roof, Maggie’s will help people to find their way out of the hopelessness of cancer."

Architect Frank Gehry said: "Maggie was bright and sunny and open and fun and whimsical and smart as hell. She was a real creative spirit, she had a healthy curiosity and she tried things, and in a sense I emulated her.

"The building has feelings which I hope engender community activity, and that it’s comfortable for the patients to be there. It’s respectful of Chinese architecture and motifs. I hope it’s not copying anything Chinese or architectural, but I hope it’s very respectful of them.

"I was going through the loss of a daughter while I was designing the Centre. I think you sort of suck it up and hope to make something that is soothing and respectful and hopeful. There’s always hope, it’s not a dead end."

Landscape architect Lily Jencks - daughter of founders Maggie Keswick Jencks and Charles Jencks - has designed the garden for Maggie’s Hong Kong.

Lily said: These intimate gardens represent the macrocosm of the universe within the microcosm of a landscape, bringing an awareness of man’s place in nature. This early integration of landscape form and building has created a complex relationship between the man-made forms and naturalistic garden setting."

The new Centre will mean staff can provide more support and groups can run at the same time. Programme activities include support groups, nutrition classes, tai chi, yoga, managing symptoms and side effects, relaxation, art and music therapy.

Maggie's Hong Kong is supported by the Keswick Foundation Ltd and Maggie's Centres.

Maggie’s Hong Kong is Maggie’s first complete international centre. Plans are underway to create a Maggie’s in Barcelona, along with a further three international centres by 2017. Since the charity’s inception 16 years ago, Maggie’s has influenced and inspired a number of international cancer support organisations such as the Danish Cancer Society and the Swiss Cancer League, and it continues to support and collaborate with a significant number of cancer care groups from around the world including Japan, Australia, Qatar and Europe.

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Architect Frank Gehry has revisited the rippled form of his recent New York skyscraper for the design of a 22-storey tower in his hometown of Santa Monica, California.

Reminiscent of the architect's 2011 building, New York by Gehry, the rippled tower is proposed at the sea-facing corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. The wave-like facade is intended to evoke the ocean, blue skies and clouds, and will be coloured white to match the surrounding buildings in contrast to its silver counterpart in New York.

The tower will form part of a new complex of apartments, shops, restaurants, a hotel and a museum, which will involve the renovation of two existing structures. Public pathways and plazas will run between the buildings at ground level, while a rooftop viewing platform will offer a wide-stretching panorama.

"After 25 years, I am excited to finally design a project in my hometown of 40 years," commented Frank Gehry. "The site is on Ocean Avenue, which has always stood out to me as the face of the city."

He added: "The addition of ground level restaurants, retail and a museum in this location has the potential to reinvigorate Ocean Avenue, and could be a catalyst for more public amenities along Ocean Avenue."

Above: aerial view - click for larger image

Los Angeles developers M. David Paul Associates and Worthe Real Estate Group submitted their proposals to the planning authorities last week. The team had owned the majority of the site for over 30 years, but only acquired the northern section in 2007.

Frank Gehry is renowned for using rippled and curving forms in his architecture. Other projects include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. See more architecture by Gehry on Dezeen.

Above: site plan - click for larger image

Images are by Gehry Partners, LLP.

Here's some more information from the press release:

Hotel and museum project designed by Frank Gehry unveiled for architect's hometown of Santa Monica

For the first time in twenty­‐five years, a Gehry­‐designed project has been filed today for City review in the architect's hometown of Santa Monica. The proposed Ocean Avenue Project is a hotel and museum campus that merges world­‐class urban design with historic preservation to create an important cultural anchor for the community. Located on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard in the heart of downtown, the project is being proposed by M. David Paul Associates and Worthe Real Estate Group, both with strong roots and involvement in Santa Monica.

The 22‐storey, 244­‐foot mixed‐use building includes a 125‐room hotel, 22 condominiums, 19 replacement rent­‐controlled units, affordable housing, a public rooftop observation deck and street‐level retail and restaurants. The project also includes a new 36,000 square­‐foot museum campus that consists of two landmarked buildings that will be adaptively reused and preserved as well as a Gehry Partners designed cultural building with exhibition space and museum plaza.

"We've owned the majority of this property for decades and have been searching for the right project for this very special site and for Santa Monica," said David Paul, president of M. David Paul Associates. "We are excited about the potential to create a new cultural anchor for residents and visitors with a Gehry­‐designed building and museum campus."

The Ocean Avenue Project was designed to be consistent with the vision and design principles of the City of Santa Monica's Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) and the City staff's recommendations for the Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) as well as incorporate the majority of community benefits highlighted as priorities in each. The project location has been specifically identified as a "key investment site" in LUCE and an "opportunity site" in recommendations by City staff for inclusion in the DSP. Both of these planning documents designate a limited number of sites in the downtown area that could be considered for more density and height, if the design and program of the project incorporates significant community benefits.

"Our project team has strong local roots, so we feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to create a project that brings real community and cultural benefits and positively contributes to Santa Monica's future," said Jeff Worthe, president Worthe Real Estate Group. "We look forward to working with the community on this exciting project."

The Ocean Avenue Project will also strengthen the local economy and is projected to generate $72.7 million per year in direct and indirect spending, 1,394 jobs during operations and $4.0 million in new tax revenue to the City annually.

The Ocean Avenue Project's application has been filed with the City of Santa Monica and must go through the City's float‐up review process in front of the Planning Commission/Architectural Review Board and City Council in which a proposed project is evaluated and a determination is made on whether the project can proceed through the formal Development Agreement, environmental review and hearing and review process.

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