The late Frank Gehry, a master of deconstructivism, was globally recognized as one of the most imaginative and expressive architects of the modern era. In this latest sculptural project in Silicon Valley, he illustrated the ongoing challenge of blurring the traditional boundaries between architecture, sculpture, and functional object design.
The Massy Mehdipour Silicon Valley Residence
Located in Atherton, California, this private residence in Silicon Valley demonstrates expressive forms generated through analogue methods, primarily extensive hand drawing and the use of physical models constructed from simple materials. The client, Masst Mehdipour, is a major venture investor who has founded two companies and possesses extensive experience in digital technology.
She regarded Gehry’s bold work as the benchmark for contemporary architecture. She later approached Gehry with a brief, asking him to design a house that would bring his creativity to Northern California, expressing that she wanted the residence to stand as the architect’s work of art.
Architectural Character: Curvilinear Monumentality
The design embodies Gehry’s signature curvilinear forms, free-form geometry, and shimmering materials, creating a sense of architectural dynamism. Gehry pioneered the second generation of smart digital design in the 1990s, leveraging advanced software to optimize complex shapes and translate them directly into fabrication instructions.
This process informed his physical modeling process, and the integration of parametric design and Building Information Modeling (BIM) techniques enabled the efficient management and construction of these forms. The digital process allowed fluid, curvilinear geometries to be precisely engineered, ensuring structural stability and cost control.
The Atherton house is conceived as a large-scale luxury residence that integrates glass, timber, brick, and metal into a cohesive whole, combining contemporary amenities with inhabitable art-house sensibilities. The home fuses brick towers, glass pavilions, and metal-clad forms to produce a dynamic roofline and constantly shifting perspectives across the site. The form may appear disorganized; however, it is rigorously ordered, echoing Gehry’s broader practice, in which apparent fragmentation conceals precise geometric control.
The home emphasizes spatial flexibility, incorporating multiple zones including the main dwelling, guest or extended-family wing, and communal kitchen and dining areas, as well as accessory structures such as a guest house, chef’s quarters, a wine cellar, and a garage pavilion. The design features intricate wood beams, a glass entry canopy, brick towers, and a 75-foot-long lap pool. It reflects Gehry’s sculptural sensibilities, material experimentation, and the blending of form and function.
The Wiseman Group Interiors
The interiors, designed by The Wiseman Group of the Silicon Valley residence, highlight the complex sculptural form, custom-designed furnishings, and intricate details that complement Gehry’s dramatic volumes of glass, wood, brick, and metal. The execution spanned 10 years, reflecting his characteristic experimentation, material juxtapositions, sculptural form, and the dynamic interplay of volumes. The interiors are balanced with the home’s architectural complexity, emphasizing craftsmanship and modernity.
One of the striking spaces is the dining room, defined by large wood columns and sweeping curving beams, enclosed within a transparent envelope that feels simultaneously like a pavilion, a tent, and an abstracted sailing vessel. Interior and exterior spaces are orchestrated through connecting balconies, a glass entry canopy, and carefully framed views from the brick towers to the landscape beyond, reinforcing a sense of belonging. The landscape, therefore, becomes an extension of the architecture, with the courtyard and water elements binding the ensemble of volumes into a coherent, yet deliberately heterogeneous, whole.
The Atherton House Project Details
Location: Silicon Valley
Architect: Frank Gehry
Interior Design: TWG
Photographer: © Jason Schmidt
