Wary Gehry brings design to England at last

Architect Frank Gehry, whose distinctive asymmetric, curved buildings are admired the world over, has unveiled his first structure in England, a country he says does not appreciate his ideas.

"I've heard people say they love my work, but not here," the 79-year-old told reporters next to his temporary wood and glass installation commissioned by the Serpentine Gallery in London's Kensington Gardens.

In a recent newspaper interview, he put Britain's apparent indifference towards him down to what he called the "scared-of-Frank syndrome".

Gehry also played down the regenerative power his designs can have on areas where they are built.

He is often credited with the so-called "Bilbao effect" where his acclaimed titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum has attracted visitors from around the world.

"That's a bunch of bulls***," he said, when asked whether he could do something similar in Britain. "You do a building, you solve the problems, people are happy. That's it. It wasn't about doing the 'Bilbao effect'."

The Serpentine pavilion is also Gehry's first collaboration with son Samuel, who encouraged his father to introduce the idea of butterflies into a construction originally inspired by the elaborate wooden catapults designed by Leonardo da Vinci.

"I don't know why I went there, but the idea of it was the first thing to come to mind, his catapults," Gehry explained.

He also suggested the chaotic appearance of the structure could be due to his aversion to using computers for design.

"I personally have problems with doing that (using computers)," he said. "Maybe this is a statement of regression, of my own inadequacies."

"FISH LURKING"

The commission is a construction that has been likened to a puzzle, an apparently random assembly of wooden columns and beams, steel strips and glass panes.

It acts as a walkway between the road and the entrance to the gallery and an amphitheatre where performances can be held.

Sponsored by private jet operator NetJets Europe and jeweller Tiffany & Co, the design is privately funded, goes on display for three months from July 20 and will then be sold.

Gehry follows other globally renowned "starchitects" to design for the gallery, including Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind and Rem Koolhaas.

Gehry was born in Canada before moving to California, where his business is based. The Guggenheim building in Bilbao is probably his most famous design, but other notable landmarks include the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

He said he enjoyed working on the commission.

"It's wonderful that every once in a while you can do something you love."

And when asked why there was no apparent reference this time to fish, a recurring motif in his work, he replied: "There's always a fish lurking in the bushes somewhere."