Paper Bag School by Frank Gehry - Australia



Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born American architect who's known for the titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, has given Sydney its most striking building since Jorn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House.

The Dr Chau Chak Wing Building in Ultimo is the new home of the University of Technology Sydney’s business school. Named in honour of the billionaire Australian-Chinese businessman and philanthropist who donated $20 million toward the $180 million cost.

Gehry, 85, said he was inspired by the idea of a tree house, describing the structure as “a growing learning organism with many branches of thought, some robust and some ephemeral and delicate."

“The fold is primitive, you’re in your mother’s arms when you’re a child, and so we tried to do that with brick,” he said.

When asked if he was happy with the end result, Gehry responded “Oh boy. I’m Jewish and I feel guilty about everything.”

Dr Chau Chak Wing, a media-shy property billionaire with impeccable political connections, is a huge Gehry fan and said the design was “full of passion."