Case Study – Fishdance Restaurant Describe how the architect has ordered form, materials, light and space to create a particular and memorable place. Identify ideas and strategies used to order form, materials, space, light and relationship to surrounding environment. | | The following essay will proceed to show an analytical exploration of architecture as seen in Frank Gehry’s Fishdance Restaurant and to explain the underlying and underpinning style and appearance of Gehry’s built work through the identification of space, form, order, materials and the relationship between the built work and its surrounding environment to create Gehry’s memorable place.
Walking through Merikan Park in Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, eyes are drawn to a behemoth of a fish sculpture. This sculpture is part of a three part fish village, Fishdance Restaurant, designed by Frank Gehry in 1987. Originally designed accidentally for a competition, Fishdance has become a popular tourist attraction along Kobe’s waterfront and has become one of Gehry’s first architectonic forms amidst his early fish metaphor days. In Isenberg’s (2009) book, she discusses with Gehry that during the mid-eighties he met with a client who asked him to produce fish sketches upon a napkin which can be seen in Figure 1. After many miscontrusions during the design process, including different interpretations of Gehry’s original design, lack of communication between client and architect and a broken model. Figure 1 shows the design process and development that the three-piece Fishdance Village went through to be developed.

Figure 1: Gehry's of the Fishdance Restaurant in Kobe, Japan Fishdance Restaurant is made of three components, but yet despite these separate territories, both the separation and linkage work simultaneously together create a harmonious space. In Figure 2), it is clear to see the