Born Frank Owen Goldberg in Toronto in 1929, Gehry established his Los Angeles practice in 1962 and soon became known for a radically expressive approach that challenged conventional ideas of form, authorship, and materiality. His 1978 renovation of his own Santa Monica residence-an ordinary bungalow enveloped in plywood, corrugated metal, and chain link-announced his independent voice and aligned him with the artistic experimentation of Southern California.