Venice Biennale salutes Gehry

Los Angeles architect Frank O. Gehry, designer of Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Guggenheim Bilbao museum, has been awarded the Venice Biennale’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 11th Annual Architecture Exhibition, the board of the Foundation La Biennale di Venezia announced Friday.

“Frank Gehry has transformed modern architecture,” wrote Aaron Betsky, director of the architecture exhibition, in his case statement on Gehry’s selection. “He has liberated it from the confines of the ‘box’ and the constraints of modern building practices.” The board also cited the impact of Gehry’s design for the Venice Gateway, a water gate linking the city to the airport.

-- Diane Haithman