Not another brick lump: Why Gehry gave the Weisman its iconic look

Throughout 2017, Minnesota Public Radio will celebrate 50 years on the air by sharing highlights from our archives, connecting Minnesota's past to its present. | This conversation between MPR News reporter Chris Roberts and architect Frank Gehry originally aired Nov. 20, 1993.

Don't make another brick lump.

That's what architect Frank Gehry says was asked of him when he designed the University of Minnesota's Weisman Art Museum.

When the building on the banks of the Mississippi River opened in 1993, it created quite a stir in the Twin Cities. Many people didn't know what to make of its curves and sharp angles of shiny stainless steel.

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Here's how a few MPR News listeners described it:

• A silver castle

• A pile of scrap metal

• A giant tin-can monster

• The chemical factory in "Batman"

One person even suggested, "They oughta recycle it."

At the building's grand opening, Gehry laughed off the criticism.

"Most buildings are ordinary," he told MPR News reporter Chris Roberts. "And ordinary buildings don't get any response. Nobody cares."

Still, he says he wasn't trying to shock anyone with the design. In fact, he said then-University President Nils Hasselmo asked him specifically to avoid brick.

"I was trying to give the building an art presence on a campus that is all brick," he said.

However, he admitted to "agonizing" about the shiny exterior. He had originally considered using a sand-blasted stainless steel but when he stopped by the construction site on a gray August day, he and his son thought it looked dull.

They came back about a week later — which happened to be another gray day — and decided, "we gotta go for the shiny stuff."