Wednesday night's lecture at the Cleveland Clinic with Peter B. Lewis and Frank Gehry was everything I had expected and more. I doubt an audience member left without a new appreciation for the  positive,  transformative power of architecture, friendship and collaboration. It was inspiring just to be in the same room with two people who had made such great contributions to architecture. It was also inspiring to see two people, two friends, who worked so well together as client and architect. A testament to Gehry's fame, the lecture had very few visuals – only a few slides of his most famous buildings such as the Disney Concert Hall in LA, The Experience Museum Project in Seattle, the Guggenheim Bilboa and the unbuilt Peter B. Lewis residence were shown.  Peter Lewis and Frank Gehry each spent 15 minutes discussing some of the highlights of their lives and careers and then they took questions from the audience.

Questions were asked about the role of architecture and health and wellness, educating the next generation of architects, Lewis and Gehry's thoughts on future projects and the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright. Most people who asked questions prefaced their questions with exuberant expressions of praise and appreciation. Gehry's answer to the question of about the relationship between architecture and health and wellness hinted that  he might be persuaded to design something for a hospital someday. The question about education, which I believe was asked by the principal of John Haye High School, raised an important issue about teaching young people architecture. Gehry advised young architects that they must choose good clients – clients that questions things and develop the building in collaboration with you. (something to note for those developing the CMSD curriculum) Gehry and Lewis's reverence for Frank Lloyd Wright, which came up more than once during the 1 hour lecture, was also interesting and impressive.

One question that I found particularly relevant to Cleveland at this particular moment was “how do you raise awareness of a city's architectural potential?” Frank Gehry took this question, and recounted his experience in building the Guggenheim Bilbao. He said when he first began work in Bilbao he was met with death threats and a candlelight vigil against the project. But, despite the extreme early opposition, the Spanish people now love the building and treat Gehry like a beloved celebrity. What if he had listened to the opposition and the building had never been built? Learning of Gehry's experience, perhaps it is worth fighting to preserve buildings that initially lack local support (i.e. the Breuer building on West 9th) and perhaps it is worth fighting to build the best design possible rather than a mediocre solution (i.e. the Innerbelt bridge project).

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