Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center For Brain Health / Frank Gehry

Architects: Gehry Partners, Los Angeles—Frank Gehry, FAIA (design partner); Terry Bell (project partner); Brian Zamora (project designer); Kristin Ragins, Ronald A. Rosell, David Rodriguez, Michael Sedlacek (project architects); Andrew Galambos, Eun Sung Chang, AIA, Izaburo Kibayashi, Michael O’Boyle, Mok Wai Wan, Natalie Magarian, Natalie Milberg, Nora Wolin, Sameer Kashyap, Sarah David, Yvon Romeus (project team)
Area: 85,180 ft² (site area), 60,000 ft² (total building area)
Year: 2009
Photographs: Matthew Carbone, Iwan Bataan
Type: Research Center
Structural Engineer: WSP Cantor Seinuk
M/E/P/FP, Security, Telecommunications Engineer: Cosentini Associates
Lighting Design: L’Observatoire International
Acoustical Engineers: McKay Conant Hoover; Nagata Acoustics
Building Transportation: Edgett Williams Consulting Group
Life-Safety Engineers: Aon Fire Protection Engineering Corp.
Climate Engineer: Transsolar
Door Hardware: Finish Hardware Technology
Landscape Architect: Deneen Powell Atelier
Civil Engineer: G.C. Wallace
Building Maintenance: Lerch Bates
A/V Engineer: Spurgeon Design and Development
General Contractor: Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
Client: Keep Memory Alive
City: Las Vegas
Country: United States

The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, designed by Frank Gehry and completed in 2009, is a prominent landmark within the 61-acre Symphony Park in Las Vegas. Supported by the Keep Memory Alive foundation, the center focuses on neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and ALS, emphasizing research, treatment, early detection, and education. It includes a clinical building for patient care and research, along with the iconic Life Activity Center, which hosts events to fund medical research. Gehry’s design merges the clinic’s functional needs with bold architectural elements, aligning with its mission to raise awareness and support for neurological research.

Cleveland clinic lou ruvo center for brain health / frank gehry

Frank Gehry initially resisted commissions in Las Vegas, concerned that his architecture might become another thematic element in a city known for decorative spectacle. However, he was persuaded by Larry Ruvo, a local entrepreneur who had lost his father to Alzheimer’s, to design this research center, provided it would include a focus on Huntington’s disease, which Gehry has long championed. In 2009, two years after construction began, the Cleveland Clinic partnered with Ruvo to operate the center, which now serves as both a medical facility and an event space generating revenue to fund ongoing research.

The center comprises two main structures: a functional medical building and the more visually dynamic Life Activity Center. The medical building houses patient care and research facilities, featuring a façade of angular glass and stucco cubes that step back at each level. Gehry’s design for the interiors aimed to avoid a clinical atmosphere. He used rich Douglas fir wood for doors, frames, and furniture, creating a warm, calming environment similar to his earlier work on the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Curved corridors offer carefully tailored sight lines, limiting interactions between patients at different stages of illness.

The Life Activity Center, wrapped in Gehry’s signature stainless steel curves, is the most iconic and eye-catching part of the project. Contrary to initial impressions, patients do not interact with this space. Instead, it serves as an event venue, hosting weddings, galas, and other upscale gatherings. These events help fund further medical research at the center, aligning the architectural gravitas of Gehry’s design with Ruvo’s vision of raising awareness and support for neurological research. Gehry himself acknowledged the significance of the building’s design in attracting attention and securing grants for the foundation.

A breezeway connects the medical building to the Life Activity Center, offering a shaded seating area for visitors to enjoy the Las Vegas weather without direct sunlight. It also leads to a reflection garden on the east side, further enhancing the patient and visitor experience. While the Life Activity Center’s dramatic LED lighting is often seen as the project’s focal point, the core purpose of the entire complex remains the medical and research work happening within the more subdued clinical building.

By separating the wrapper of the Life Activity Center from the functional core of the clinic, Gehry explored new architectural territory. The freestanding steel structure envelops the space with swooping lines and deeply coffered windows, creating a cathedral-like atmosphere. The complex is unified by a partially clad steel trellis that shades the outdoor courtyard, linking the two buildings visually and functionally. Although Gehry’s design for the trellis is somewhat awkward, it reflects his broader intention to escape the decorative ethos of Las Vegas architecture.

Ultimately, Gehry’s design for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health achieves the balance Larry Ruvo sought—a functional medical research facility wrapped in a visually compelling structure that serves as both a symbol and a marketing tool for the cause.