subsequently distanced themselves from the term,
“deconstructivism” became a common description of
the particular look and approach adopted by many of
them. Gehry, for example, is among the architects
who disassociated himself from the deconstructivist
movement, but his home in Santa Monica (1978) is,
for many architectural historians, the prototypical
deconstructivist house. Beginning with an ordinary
three-bedroom cottage in an ordinary neighbor-
hood, Gehry changed its masses, spatial envelopes,
and facade, subverting the normal expectations of
domestic design. Typical of deconstructivist build-
ings, Gehry’s house emphasized irregular and quirky
shapes and volumes and used unexpected materials,
like metal, tile, and stucco, in unusual ways and jar-
ring combinations. In contrast, Eisenman, who em-
braced the label of deconstructivist, produced house
designs in the 1980’s that focused on an effect of dis-
location, achieved through formal purity and lack of
historical or vernacular reference.
Gehry projects like Loyola Law School in Los An-
geles (1981-1984), Edgemar Center in Santa Monica
(1988), and Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los
Angeles (begun in 1989) reveal deconstructivism’s
lack of interest in the unity, orthodoxy, and simple
functionality that shaped most modernist architec-
tural designs. Buildings like Eisenman’s Wexner
Center for the Arts in Columbus (1989) illustrate the
complexity and fragmentation common to decon-
structivist architecture. A three-dimensional grid runs
through the castle-like structure. Some of the grid’s
columns fail to reach the ground and loom over the
stairways, creating a feeling of dread and concern
about the structural integrity of the columns.The Eighties in America Deconstructivist architecture 277
The Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, California, is an icon of deconstructivist architecture.(Jon Sullivan/
pdphoto.org)