LOS ANGELES — Groundbreaking architect Frank Gehry, who died Friday at age 96, was known for designing some of the most imaginative buildings ever constructed. Over the course of his career, he was awarded every major prize architecture has to offer — including the field's top honor, the Pritzker Prize, for what has been described as ''refreshingly original and totally American'' work.
Here's a closer look at some of his renowned buildings.
Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris
The art museum, which opened in the Bois de Boulogne park along Paris' western edge in 2014, describes Gehry's design on its website as ''a magnificent vessel for Paris.''
Gehry was inspired by late 19th-century glass and garden architecture, and the building ''fits easily into the natural environment, between woods and garden, while at the same time playing with light and mirror effects,'' the museum's website says.
''The choice of materials became self-evident: an envelope of glass would cover the body of the building, an assembly of blocks referred to as the ‘iceberg', and would give it its volume and its vitality.''
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
The museum of modern and contemporary art, which opened in 1997 along the Nervion River, is one of Gehry's most celebrated works. Made of titanium, limestone and glass, the building has become an iconic attraction and drew 1.3 million visitors last year, according to the museum's website. The exterior features curves, and the museum's website describes the atrium as ''crowned with a metallic flower over its skylight.''
