House of the Day: Frank Gehry's Schnabel House For Sale To Fund More Musicals

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Wednesday, April 13, 2011, by Rob Bear

Have a nomination for a jaw-dropping listing that would make a mighty fine House of the Day? Get thee to the tipline and send us your suggestions. We'd love to see what you've got.

Photos: Nick Springett and Lawrence K. Ho, Los Angeles Times

Location: Brentwood, Calif.
Price: $13,000,000
The Skinny: Frank Gehry's controversial Schnabel House is back on the market after a thorough renovation and updating by Tony Award-winning Broadway producer Jon Platt. Our sister site Curbed LA took notice of the fact that just a year and a half ago Platt declared he'd "put too much of himself into the project to sell." Something changed his mind, because the man behind Angels in America, Wicked, and The Book of Mormon currently has the house listed for $13M. This particular bit of starchitecture was designed and built back in the late '80s for then-ambassador to Finland Rockwell Schnabel and his wife, Marna, all while the couple were stationed in Helsinki. Marna, a USC-trained architect, relayed her desires to Gehry via fax machine, but that sort of micromanaging pales in comparison to Platt's during the renovation. According to the L.A. Times, the producer reconfigured the wading pool three times before approving, replaced aging wiring with state-of-the-art home control systems managed by eight iPads, and a convoluted mechanized skylight system to cool the interior spaces with minimal energy consumption, all with regular input from Gehry.
· 526 N Carmelina Avenue [Hilton & Hyland]
· Frank Gehry's 1989 Schnabel House in Brentwood [Curbed LA]
· Frank Gehry's Schnabel House: Updated, but would he approve? [LAT]
· Frank Gehry Visits His Own Schnabel House; Marvels at Tech Updates [Curbed National]

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Globe Trotting: Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Boycotted For Screwing Over Workers

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, March 18, 2011, by Sarah Firshein

It was to supposed to be the land of dreams: a manmade island designed as a global epicenter of arts and culture, all furnished by big-name architects such as Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, and Norman Foster. Unfortunately, Saadiyat Island, off Dubai, was considered the land of dreams by a bunch of migrant laborers, too, many of whom forked over thousands of dollars in recruitment fees just to work in the Emirates. Now, these poor folks aren't being duly repaid—in some case, they're not being paid for their work at all, they're being forced to sleep outside, or worksites are unsafe. The Times has reported on a labor-rights scandal currently lurking within the chunky blocks and curved facades of Gehry's new Saadiyat Island Guggenheim Museum, in which more than 130 artists commissioned to create work for the space are boycotting it instead. Which obviously screws the ol' Gugg over, considering it's set to open in 2015. Said Lebanese NYC-based artist Walid Raad, "Artists should not be asked to exhibit their work in buildings built on the backs of exploited workers,” adding, “Those working with bricks and mortar deserve the same kind of respect as those working with cameras and brushes.” Amen, brother!

· Abu Dhabi Guggenheim Faces Protest [NYT]

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