Software assistance for visionary architect Gehry

Iconic architectural designs often come at suitably exorbitant costs. But Frank Gehry says 3D software has helped turn his ideas into commercially viable realities.

The exterior of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, on Oct. 8, 2007. The museum, designed by Frank O. Gehry, celebrates its tenth anniversary on Oct. 19. Photographer: James S. Russell via Bloomberg NewsShow less

Iconic architectural designs often come at suitably exorbitant costs. But Frank Gehry, one of the most influential architects in the world, and one famous for abstract, one-off designs, says 3D software has helped turn his ideas into commercially viable realities.

While Mr Gehry was designing the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, Dassault Systemes' CATIA software helped lower costs and resulted in construction bids from contractors coming in 18 per cent under budget.

"When I saw that, I realised we have got powers here that architects don't usually have," Mr Gehry said recently.

In designing 8 Spruce Street, a lower-Manhattan tower that opened in February, Mr Gehry relied on CATIA to realise innovations such as abstract curves that led to some apartments having spacious bay windows - a luxury uncommon in the space-constrained borough.

"Walking into bay windows in New York is like being in outer space. It's a whole different experience. With CATIA, they were able to corral that into a reasonable cost," Mr Gehry said.

A city-planning division that relies on blueprints can take up to a year to review the design of a new building, but if everything is submitted via a 3D program, "it could electronically approve buildings online and save so much time", Mr Gehry said.

"Dassault builds the Boeing 777 aircraft with no paper," he said. "That is where we are going."