When famed architect Frank Gehry agreed to design The Grand, a $1-billion, mixed-use complex in downtown Los Angeles, the construction team expected something unconventional.
After all, Gehry had designed the billowing Walt Disney Concert Hall across the street, its steel curves suggesting a clipper ship in full sail. The Grand’s design with its whimsical towers that resemble stacks of children’s building blocks is a response to that 2003 landmark.