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
To the north on the floor plan, Gehry converted the detached garage into a design studio. This space, accessed via a plywood bridge, functions as the master bedroom suite and studio. The floor plan reveals a raw rectangle with a bathroom wedged into the corner—no frills, just corrugated metal and glass. gehry residence floor plan
The ground floor plan is where Gehry’s "house-within-a-house" concept is most legible. He left the original bungalow largely intact but "edited" its walls by stripping away plaster to reveal the raw wood studs and framing. the upper floor is more intimate.
It teaches us that a home does not need to be quiet. It can be loud. It does not need to be insulated from the street. It can embrace the noise. And a floor plan does not need to be a circle. It can be a collision. Gehry Residence in Santa Monica
The core of the Gehry Residence floor plan is the preservation of the original house, which Gehry "pruned" down to its wooden bones. He then wrapped this core in industrial materials—corrugated metal, plywood, and chain-link fencing—to create a new layer of living space.
This is because Gehry designed the house by building physical models (the "Fish" and "Bang" models) and then photographed the models to create the construction drawings.
While the ground floor is a public statement of deconstructivism, the upper floor is more intimate.