Location: Barcelona, Spain
Date: 1992
Category: Cultural 

About this Project:

• Design Architect: Frank Gehry and Associates

• Project Architect: Douglas Hanson, FAIA

Built for the 1992 Olympics, the gold-colored stainless-steel sculpture serves as a shade canopy for the Vila Olímpica, the retail shopping center that links the adjacent Hotel Arts (designed by SOM) to the sea.

Douglas Hanson, FAIA, developed an approach to the construction of El Peix while working as the Project Architect at SOM that harnessed the capabilities of the digital model with the available labor. The work by Hanson and the team to develop this project set a precedent for
what is possible with technology- enabled design and construction methods, ultimately revolutionizing the discipline of architecture. As a sculpture without the same technical requirements of a building, El Peix proved to be a good project for testing new technologies. On site, Hanson worked directly with the engineers and contractors to establish the means and methods that could translate the geometry of the design into construction. His input in the project helped shape new possibilities and collaborative forms of engagement for the discipline of architecture and led to him working at Frank O. Gehry and Associates. El Peix set the
stage for the seminal Guggenheim Museum Bilbao where the project team, including Douglas Hanson, FAIA, as Project Architect, was brought back together to build the museum. Their knowledge from El Peix opened new doors for greater complexity in projects and innovation in design through technologically-rich design, building, and workflow processes.