Iron: Erecting the Walt Disney Concert Hall

The graceful curves of Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles are familiar to anyone interested in contemporary architecture or the work of this great master. They are also famous, if not infamous, to the ironworkers faced with the challenge of building them. With a building skin stretched tight and tolerances shaved to a thousandth of an inch, there was simply no room for typical industry standards. A new breed of ironworker was required, one who relies on modern tools like lasers, yet whose muscular forms wielding hammers hundreds of feet above the ground testify still to the great unchanging tradition of their trade. Photographer Gil Garcetti had unparalleled free access to the construction site. The personal relationships he developed with the workers over the course of many months and his admiration for their artistry are evident in these moving portraits. Garcetti's evocative images, reproduced in rich duotones, bring to life the romantic ideal of the heavy industry.