Frank Gehry is a famed Canadian-American architect. Celebrated as one the most important designers of the 20th century, Gehry's socially responsible architectural design is characterized by its sloping, organic forms that give his massive buildings a scale-shifting weightless feeling—often likened to the effect of a crumpled piece of paper. Of his innovative constructions, he has memorably said that “architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.” Born on February 28, 1929 in Toronto, Canada, he studied at the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles before attending the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1956. In the early 1960s, he would move to Paris, where he carefully studied to work of Modern architect Le Corbusier. Over the next several decades, Gehry rose to prominence following the construction of his private residence in Santa Monica in 1978. He converted the home into a showcase using discarded and inexpensive materials, such as chain link fencing, unfinished plywood, and corrugated aluminum. Some of his other best-known projects include the elegant, titanium Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Dancing House in Prague, and 8 Spruce Street in New York. Gehry lives and works in Santa Monica, CA.