Frank Gehry Says No to Scotland, Yes to Golfing in Abu Dhabi

While we said back in January that 2010 might be shaping up to be another rough and tumble year for Frank Gehry, what with the recent stop work order on his Beekman Tower and his pulling out from Jerusalem’s troubled-from-the-start Museum of Tolerance, the guy is still a starchitect after all and that’s a pretty choice spot to be in. It’s just been announced that he’s passed on potentially working on a museum project in Dundee, Scotland (where he’s worked before with the small Maggie’s Centre building), saying that “he has too much work on at the moment to contemplate taking part in the competition.” One of the things most likely keeping Gehry busy at the moment is the main structure for the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi. The building, Gehry’s first clubhouse, will be quite large, coming in at around 18,000 square feet, and is described as “a postmodern twist on the traditional garb worn by Arab men.” The new building, set to finish in two years, will be surrounded by a golf course designed by golf legend Gary Player. If you want to golf in the middle east in the next couple of years, we’re willing to bet that there’s more likelihood of being able to do it here than at the proposed Tiger Woods course in Dubai.

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