Perhaps Architect Frank Gehry’s most famous building stands in Bilbao, Spain. His design is framed with steel and sheaved in titanium. This sculpture, created to display art, opened in 1997 to immediate acclaim. Gehry responded to all the noise by noting, “I do think architecture is a profession that deserves to have its masterpieces and occasionally somebody manages to eke one out. Not everybody can do it and, God knows, I didn’t know I could.”

Bilbao lies at the heart of the Basque region of Spain, an area long torn by the terrorism of Basque separatists. Gehry has discussed his design as an attempt to represent the idea of “democracy.” He created a building that appears to be breaking apart; fitful pieces slide askew, yet remain together, fixed in space. The sheets of titanium reflect the sun above and the water below; a shifting façade responsive to rippling water and clouds sliding by.

I walked out of Chicago’s Union Station, following my nose to Lake Michigan. I have always liked Chicago. It’s small enough to feel manageable, but big enough to be a thoroughly vibrant city with a dynamic feel. And the architecture! There are few places I would rather stand than in Millennium Park, looking back to the amazing array of towers that comprise the Chicago skyline.

My legs took me quickly to the park, which is the site of a breathtaking outdoor auditorium designed by Frank Gehry. His signature suspended metal sheets frame the stage, echoing his designs of the art museum in Bilbao and the Disney Symphony Hall in LA. The auditorium is part of a larger public arts space, including the Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa; the contemporary Lurie Garden designed by Kathryn Gustafson, Piet Oudolf and Robert Israel; and Anish Kapoor's crowd favorite “Cloud Gate” sculpture. Comprised of twenty four acres, it is one of the world’s most compelling public arts spaces. As you walk through it, you can’t help but be reminded of the profoundly re-humanizing impact beautiful art and architecture have on an humanity.