Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank
Encyclopedia
Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, OM
(born 1 June 1935) is a British architect
whose company maintains an international design practice, Foster + Partners.
Foster was raised in Manchester in a working-class family and was intrigued by design and engineering from a young age. His years observing Mancunian architecture
subsequently influenced his works, and was inspired to pursue a career in Architecture after a treasurer clerk noticed his tendency to sketch and venture around Manchester to view buildings while he worked at Manchester Town Hall
.
Foster managed to gain an internship at a local architects office before submitting a portfolio for a place at the University of Manchester
School of Architecture
. He won a place at Manchester and then won a scholarship to continue his studies at the Yale School of Architecture
in the United States.
Foster returned to the United Kingdom in 1963 and set up his own practice, Team 4
before changing its name to Foster + Partners. His breakthrough building was arguably the Willis Building
in Ipswich
in 1975 and has since gone on to design landmark structures such as the new Wembley Stadium
and 30 St Mary Axe
. His buildings has made him one of Britain's most prolific architects of his generation. In 2009 Foster was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award
in the Arts category.
(now part of Greater Manchester), Stockport
. Foster himself stated he has no recollection of Reddish as within months of being born, his parents rented a terraced house, 4 Crescent Grove in Levenshulme
for fourteen-shillings a week.
Foster's parents were diligent, hard workers - so diligent that Foster, an only child without siblings, felt their heavy workload restricted his relationship with his parents and would often be looked after by neighbours or other family members. He attended Burnage Grammar School (now Burnage High School
) in Burnage
. Foster stated he always felt 'different' at school and was bullied. He often retired into the world of books and was quiet and awkward in his early years often making faux pas.
Manchester was 'one of the workshops of the world' during his childhood, as Foster later put it and was 'the embodiment of a great city'. His father, Robert, worked at Metropolitan Vickers at the Trafford Park
plant - both helped fuel his interest in engineering and design. As a youngster, he was fascinated with engineering marvels and the process of designing which ultimately spurred his wish to pursue a career in designing buildings. Specific interests included aircraft, a keen hobby he maintains to this day; and trains, an interest generated by viewing passing trains on the railway track outside his terrace home in Manchester during his childhood.
During his O-Levels in his later school years, Foster's father convinced him to take the entrance to get on the Manchester Town Hall's trainee scheme. He passed in 1951 and landed a job as an office junior in the Manchester Treasurer Department. Foster's parents were pleased, but their son was disappointed. Bored of office work, Foster would often venture out into Manchester to observe buildings during lunch breaks and sketch designs while at his desk. This trait alerted a town hall clerk, who Foster refers to by the name of Mr Cobb. Cobb's son was studying architecture and after discussions with the clerk Foster soon considered a career in architecture. He worked on a permanent basis in the Manchester City Treasurer's office, before completing the compulsory National Service
in 1953. Foster chose to do Service in the Royal Air Force
, a choice inspired by his passion for aircraft.
Foster returned to Manchester, and did not wish to return to work at the town hall as his parents wanted him to and remained unsure of the path to follow. With 7 O-levels, he applied for a job at a duplicating office machine company and when asked by the interviewer why he applied, Foster replied: 'mainly because it offered the prospect of a company car, and a £1,000 salary.' Foster was searching for a world away from his working-class roots, and much to the alienation of his parents.
from Beardstow's practice as inspiration. Foster intended to submit this portfolio to an architectural school in the hope of gaining, however inadvertently Beardstow was so impressed with the drawings he promoted the young Foster to the drawing department of the practice. However after trying to convince Foster to stay and learn his trade as an architect at Beardstow's, Foster declined and wanted to pursue a place at an architecture school.
After he was discharged, in 1956 Foster won a place at the University of Manchester
School of Architecture
and City Planning. Foster failed to get a grant to help fund his studies, and being from a working-class background money was at a minimum. He took up a number of part time jobs to fund his studies in Architecture. His jobs in his teenage years included being an ice-cream salesman, night-club bouncer and working night shifts at the local bakery to make crumpets. He combined these with self-tuition via visits to the local library in Levenshulme. Foster took a keen interest in the works of Frank Lloyd Wright
, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
, Le Corbusier
and Oscar Niemeyer
and graduated from Manchester in 1961.
Foster won the Henry Fellowship to the Yale School of Architecture
, where he met future business partner Richard Rogers
and earned his Master's degree. He then travelled in America for a year, returning to the UK in 1963 where he set up an architectural practice as Team 4 with Rogers and the sisters Georgie and Wendy Cheesman. Georgie (later Wolton) was the only one of the team that had passed her RIBA exams allowing them to set up in practice on their own. Team 4 quickly earned a reputation for high-tech industrial design.
After Team 4 went their separate ways, in 1967 Foster and Wendy Cheesman founded Foster Associates, which later became Foster and Partners
. 1968 saw the beginning of a long period of collaboration with American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, which continued until Fuller's death in 1983, on several projects that became catalysts in the development of an environmentally sensitive approach to design – including the Samuel Beckett Theatre project.
Foster + Partners' breakthrough building in the UK was the Willis Faber & Dumas headquarters
in Ipswich
, from 1974. The client was a family firm insurance company which wanted to restore a sense of community to the workplace. Foster created open-plan office floors long before open-plan became the norm. In a town not over-endowed with public facilities, the roof gardens, 25m swimming pool
and gymnasium greatly enhanced the quality of life of the company's 1200 employees. The building is wrapped in a full-height glass facade which moulds itself to the medieval street plan and contributes real drama, subtly shifting from opaque, reflective black to a glowing backlit transparency as the sun sets. This black glass design was inspired by the Daily Express Building in Manchester which featured black vitrolite
, a work Foster admired in his youth. The building is now Grade One listed.
Foster soon gained a reputation as an architect specialising in the design of office buildings. In the 1980s he designed the HSBC Main Building in Hong Kong
for the banking firm, HSBC
. The building is marked by a high level of light transparency for its inhabitants, as all 3500 workers have a view out to Victoria Peak
or a view over the Hong Kong bay and Chinese mainland from the north side.
Foster was assigned with a brief to create a new development on the former site of the Baltic Exchange in the 1990s. The Exchange was bombed beyond repair by the IRA and so a new building was considered. Foster + Partners first submitted a plan for a 385m skyscraper which would be called the London Millenium Tower
, but the skyscraper's height was seen as excessive and out of touch with London's skyline.
The Millenium Tower proposal was scraped and instead Foster proposed 30 St Mary Axe, which gained the nickname of "the gherkin" due to its design which alluded to its shape. Foster worked with its engineering collaborators to integrate complex computer systems with the most basic physical laws, such as convection
when designing St Mary Axe. Green, sustainable energy ideas inclue the complex facade which lets in air for passive cooling and then vents it as it warms and rises.
Foster's earlier designs reflected a sophisticated, machine-influenced high-tech vision. His style has since evolved into a more sharp-edged modernity. In 2004, Foster designed the tallest bridge in the world, the Millau Viaduct
in southern France, with the Millau Mayor Jacques Godfrain stating; "The architect, Norman Foster, gave us a model of art."
In January 2007, The Sunday Times
reported that Foster had called in Catalyst, a corporate finance house, to find buyers for Foster + Partners. Foster does not intend to retire, but sell his 80–90% holding in the company valued at £300M to £500M.
In 2007, he worked with Philippe Starck
and Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group
for the Virgin Galactic
plans.
Foster currently sits on the Board of Trustees at architectural charity Article 25
who design, construct and manage innovative, safe, sustainable buildings in some of the most inhospitable and unstable regions of the world. He has also been on the Board of Trustees of The Architecture Foundation
.
ed in 1990 and appointed to the Order of Merit in 1997. In 1999, he was created a life peer
, as Baron Foster of Thames Bank, of Reddish in the County of Greater Manchester. As a resident of Switzerland, in 2010 he stepped down from his seat in the House of Lords in order to maintain his non-domiciled status, and so be able to avoid paying UK residents' taxes on income earned abroad. Foster was also criticised by some in the Architecture world for not advocating the importance of high standards of architecture and planning in the House of Lords. Foster last gave a speech to the Lords in 2003 before his resignation in 2010.
He is the second British architect to win the Stirling Prize
twice: the first for the American Air Museum at the Imperial War Museum Duxford
in 1998, and the second for 30 St Mary Axe in 2004. In consideration of his whole portfolio, Foster was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1999. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers
and winner of the Minerva Medal, the Society's highest award. Foster is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council
.
In Germany, Lord Foster received the Order Pour le Mérite
; in Malaysia he was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture
, for the University of Technology Petronas
. and in 2008 he was granted an honorary degree from the Dundee School of Architecture at the University of Dundee
. In 2009 he received the Prince of Asturias Award
in the category Arts.
in 1998 and is currently married to Elena Ochoa Foster
, Lady Foster of Thames Bank.
A qualified pilot, Foster flies his own private jet and helicopter between his home above the London offices of Foster + Partners, as well to his homes in France and Switzerland. In 2007, Foster bought a Swiss 1720s chateau from the German industrialist Charles Grohe, which became his home from late 2008.
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Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
(born 1 June 1935) is a British architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
whose company maintains an international design practice, Foster + Partners.
Foster was raised in Manchester in a working-class family and was intrigued by design and engineering from a young age. His years observing Mancunian architecture
Architecture of Manchester
The architecture of Manchester demonstrates a rich variety of architectural styles, including Victorian architecture, neogothic, art deco, baroque, neoclassical and deconstructivist...
subsequently influenced his works, and was inspired to pursue a career in Architecture after a treasurer clerk noticed his tendency to sketch and venture around Manchester to view buildings while he worked at Manchester Town Hall
Manchester Town Hall
Manchester Town Hall is a Victorian-era, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. The building functions as the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments....
.
Foster managed to gain an internship at a local architects office before submitting a portfolio for a place at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
School of Architecture
Manchester School of Architecture
The Manchester School of Architecture was formed in 1996 with the merger of the architecture departments of the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University. The MSA is a joint school of the University of Manchester School of Environment and Development and the Manchester...
. He won a place at Manchester and then won a scholarship to continue his studies at the Yale School of Architecture
Yale School of Architecture
The Yale School of Architecture is one of the constituent professional schools of Yale University. It is generally considered to be one of the most prestigious architecture schools in the world.- History :...
in the United States.
Foster returned to the United Kingdom in 1963 and set up his own practice, Team 4
Team 4
Team 4 was a British architectural firm, established in 1963 by architects Su Brumwell, Wendy Cheeseman, Norman Foster and Richard Rogers. At the time Rogers and Brumwell were both married, as were Foster and Cheeseman...
before changing its name to Foster + Partners. His breakthrough building was arguably the Willis Building
Willis Building (Ipswich)
The Willis building in Ipswich, England is one of the earliest buildings designed by Norman Foster after establishing Foster Associates. Constructed between 1970 and 1975 for the insurance firm now known as Willis Group Holdings, it is now seen as a landmark in the development of the 'high tech'...
in Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
in 1975 and has since gone on to design landmark structures such as the new Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
and 30 St Mary Axe
30 St Mary Axe
30 St Mary Axe, the Swiss Re Building , is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London, completed in December 2003 and opened at the end of May 2004...
. His buildings has made him one of Britain's most prolific architects of his generation. In 2009 Foster was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award
Prince of Asturias Awards
The Prince of Asturias Awards are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Prince of Asturias Foundation to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs....
in the Arts category.
Early life in Manchester
Foster was born to Robert Foster and Lilian Smith in 1935 in ReddishReddish
Reddish is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of Stockport and southeast of Manchester...
(now part of Greater Manchester), Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
. Foster himself stated he has no recollection of Reddish as within months of being born, his parents rented a terraced house, 4 Crescent Grove in Levenshulme
Levenshulme
Levenshulme is an urban area of the City of Manchester, in North West England. It borders Longsight, Gorton, Burnage, Heaton Chapel and Reddish, and is approximately halfway between Stockport and Manchester City Centre on the A6 road. The A6 bisects Levenshulme. The Manchester to London railway...
for fourteen-shillings a week.
Foster's parents were diligent, hard workers - so diligent that Foster, an only child without siblings, felt their heavy workload restricted his relationship with his parents and would often be looked after by neighbours or other family members. He attended Burnage Grammar School (now Burnage High School
Burnage High School
Burnage Media Arts College is an all-boys secondary school in Burnage, Manchester, England.-Grammar school:...
) in Burnage
Burnage
Burnage is a neighbourhood of the city of Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire it was included in the county of Greater Manchester in 1974. It is about south of Manchester city centre, bisected by the busy dual carriageway of Kingsway, part of the A34...
. Foster stated he always felt 'different' at school and was bullied. He often retired into the world of books and was quiet and awkward in his early years often making faux pas.
Trafford Park
Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Located opposite Salford Quays, on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, it is west-southwest of Manchester city centre, and north of Stretford. Until the late 19th century it was the...
plant - both helped fuel his interest in engineering and design. As a youngster, he was fascinated with engineering marvels and the process of designing which ultimately spurred his wish to pursue a career in designing buildings. Specific interests included aircraft, a keen hobby he maintains to this day; and trains, an interest generated by viewing passing trains on the railway track outside his terrace home in Manchester during his childhood.
During his O-Levels in his later school years, Foster's father convinced him to take the entrance to get on the Manchester Town Hall's trainee scheme. He passed in 1951 and landed a job as an office junior in the Manchester Treasurer Department. Foster's parents were pleased, but their son was disappointed. Bored of office work, Foster would often venture out into Manchester to observe buildings during lunch breaks and sketch designs while at his desk. This trait alerted a town hall clerk, who Foster refers to by the name of Mr Cobb. Cobb's son was studying architecture and after discussions with the clerk Foster soon considered a career in architecture. He worked on a permanent basis in the Manchester City Treasurer's office, before completing the compulsory National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in 1953. Foster chose to do Service in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, a choice inspired by his passion for aircraft.
Foster returned to Manchester, and did not wish to return to work at the town hall as his parents wanted him to and remained unsure of the path to follow. With 7 O-levels, he applied for a job at a duplicating office machine company and when asked by the interviewer why he applied, Foster replied: 'mainly because it offered the prospect of a company car, and a £1,000 salary.' Foster was searching for a world away from his working-class roots, and much to the alienation of his parents.
Education
After failing to gain a job, Foster was led to John Beardstow, a local architect in Manchester. After a successful interview, he gained a job as an assistant to a contract manager at the practice. Foster was unsure how to become an architect, and if it was even possible coming from a working class background where money for tuition was slim. Nevertheless, he queried colleagues at the architecture practice for advice on how to become an architect. Advised to create a portfolio to hand to an architecture school, he took various drawings, such as perspective and shop drawingsShop drawing
A is a drawing or set of drawings produced by the contractor, supplier, manufacturer, subcontractor, or fabricator. Shop drawings are typically required for pre-fabricated components. Examples of these include: elevators, structural steel, trusses, pre-cast, windows, appliances, cabinets, air...
from Beardstow's practice as inspiration. Foster intended to submit this portfolio to an architectural school in the hope of gaining, however inadvertently Beardstow was so impressed with the drawings he promoted the young Foster to the drawing department of the practice. However after trying to convince Foster to stay and learn his trade as an architect at Beardstow's, Foster declined and wanted to pursue a place at an architecture school.
After he was discharged, in 1956 Foster won a place at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
School of Architecture
Manchester School of Architecture
The Manchester School of Architecture was formed in 1996 with the merger of the architecture departments of the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University. The MSA is a joint school of the University of Manchester School of Environment and Development and the Manchester...
and City Planning. Foster failed to get a grant to help fund his studies, and being from a working-class background money was at a minimum. He took up a number of part time jobs to fund his studies in Architecture. His jobs in his teenage years included being an ice-cream salesman, night-club bouncer and working night shifts at the local bakery to make crumpets. He combined these with self-tuition via visits to the local library in Levenshulme. Foster took a keen interest in the works of Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....
, Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
and Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho is a Brazilian architect specializing in international modern architecture...
and graduated from Manchester in 1961.
Foster won the Henry Fellowship to the Yale School of Architecture
Yale School of Architecture
The Yale School of Architecture is one of the constituent professional schools of Yale University. It is generally considered to be one of the most prestigious architecture schools in the world.- History :...
, where he met future business partner Richard Rogers
Richard Rogers
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
and earned his Master's degree. He then travelled in America for a year, returning to the UK in 1963 where he set up an architectural practice as Team 4 with Rogers and the sisters Georgie and Wendy Cheesman. Georgie (later Wolton) was the only one of the team that had passed her RIBA exams allowing them to set up in practice on their own. Team 4 quickly earned a reputation for high-tech industrial design.
Foster and Partners
Foster and Partners
Foster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
. 1968 saw the beginning of a long period of collaboration with American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, which continued until Fuller's death in 1983, on several projects that became catalysts in the development of an environmentally sensitive approach to design – including the Samuel Beckett Theatre project.
Foster + Partners' breakthrough building in the UK was the Willis Faber & Dumas headquarters
Willis Building (Ipswich)
The Willis building in Ipswich, England is one of the earliest buildings designed by Norman Foster after establishing Foster Associates. Constructed between 1970 and 1975 for the insurance firm now known as Willis Group Holdings, it is now seen as a landmark in the development of the 'high tech'...
in Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, from 1974. The client was a family firm insurance company which wanted to restore a sense of community to the workplace. Foster created open-plan office floors long before open-plan became the norm. In a town not over-endowed with public facilities, the roof gardens, 25m swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
and gymnasium greatly enhanced the quality of life of the company's 1200 employees. The building is wrapped in a full-height glass facade which moulds itself to the medieval street plan and contributes real drama, subtly shifting from opaque, reflective black to a glowing backlit transparency as the sun sets. This black glass design was inspired by the Daily Express Building in Manchester which featured black vitrolite
Vitrolite
Vitrolite was an opaque pigmented glass manufactured by Pilkington Brothers in the United Kingdom and The Vitrolite Company then Libbey Owens Ford in the United States...
, a work Foster admired in his youth. The building is now Grade One listed.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
for the banking firm, HSBC
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
. The building is marked by a high level of light transparency for its inhabitants, as all 3500 workers have a view out to Victoria Peak
Victoria Peak
Victoria Peak is a mountain in Hong Kong. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak. The mountain is located in the western half of Hong Kong Island...
or a view over the Hong Kong bay and Chinese mainland from the north side.
Present day
Millennium Tower (London)
London Millennium Tower was one of several ideas for the site of the former Baltic Exchange at 30 St Mary Axe, City of London that had been destroyed beyond repair by a Provisional IRA bomb blast....
, but the skyscraper's height was seen as excessive and out of touch with London's skyline.
The Millenium Tower proposal was scraped and instead Foster proposed 30 St Mary Axe, which gained the nickname of "the gherkin" due to its design which alluded to its shape. Foster worked with its engineering collaborators to integrate complex computer systems with the most basic physical laws, such as convection
Convection
Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....
when designing St Mary Axe. Green, sustainable energy ideas inclue the complex facade which lets in air for passive cooling and then vents it as it warms and rises.
Foster's earlier designs reflected a sophisticated, machine-influenced high-tech vision. His style has since evolved into a more sharp-edged modernity. In 2004, Foster designed the tallest bridge in the world, the Millau Viaduct
Millau Viaduct
The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. Designed by the British architect Norman Foster and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux, it is the tallest bridge in the world, with one mast's summit at . It is the...
in southern France, with the Millau Mayor Jacques Godfrain stating; "The architect, Norman Foster, gave us a model of art."
In January 2007, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
reported that Foster had called in Catalyst, a corporate finance house, to find buyers for Foster + Partners. Foster does not intend to retire, but sell his 80–90% holding in the company valued at £300M to £500M.
In 2007, he worked with Philippe Starck
Philippe Starck
Philippe Patrick Starck is a French product designer and probably the best known designer in the New Design style...
and Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
for the Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public, along with suborbital space science missions and orbital launches of small satellites...
plans.
Foster currently sits on the Board of Trustees at architectural charity Article 25
Article 25
Article 25 is a UK registered charity that manages sustainable architecture projects in areas of extreme poverty and disaster.-History:Established in 2006 as ‘Architects for Aid’, the name was changed to Article 25 in 2008, making reference to the principle of the 25th Article of the UNs...
who design, construct and manage innovative, safe, sustainable buildings in some of the most inhospitable and unstable regions of the world. He has also been on the Board of Trustees of The Architecture Foundation
The Architecture Foundation
The Architecture Foundation was Britain's first independent architecture centre. Established in 1991, it aims to promote contemporary architecture.The Architecture Foundation has organised public exhibitions, design initiatives, competitions and debates....
.
Recognition
Foster was knightKnight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1990 and appointed to the Order of Merit in 1997. In 1999, he was created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
, as Baron Foster of Thames Bank, of Reddish in the County of Greater Manchester. As a resident of Switzerland, in 2010 he stepped down from his seat in the House of Lords in order to maintain his non-domiciled status, and so be able to avoid paying UK residents' taxes on income earned abroad. Foster was also criticised by some in the Architecture world for not advocating the importance of high standards of architecture and planning in the House of Lords. Foster last gave a speech to the Lords in 2003 before his resignation in 2010.
He is the second British architect to win the Stirling Prize
Stirling Prize
The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...
twice: the first for the American Air Museum at the Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near the village of Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Britain's largest aviation museum, Duxford houses the museum's large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels in seven...
in 1998, and the second for 30 St Mary Axe in 2004. In consideration of his whole portfolio, Foster was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1999. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers
Chartered Society of Designers
The Chartered Society of Designers , headquartered in London, England, is the professional body for designers. It is the world's only Royal chartered body of professional designers...
and winner of the Minerva Medal, the Society's highest award. Foster is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council
Design Futures Council
The Design Futures Council is an interdisciplinary network of design, product, and construction leaders exploring global trends, challenges, and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of the industry and environment...
.
In Germany, Lord Foster received the Order Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
; in Malaysia he was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture
Aga Khan Award for Architecture
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community...
, for the University of Technology Petronas
Universiti Teknologi Petronas
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS was established on 10 January 1997 when PETRONAS was invited by the Government of Malaysia to set up a university.-History:...
. and in 2008 he was granted an honorary degree from the Dundee School of Architecture at the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
. In 2009 he received the Prince of Asturias Award
Prince of Asturias Awards
The Prince of Asturias Awards are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Prince of Asturias Foundation to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs....
in the category Arts.
Personal life
Foster married business partner Wendy Cheesman. She died from cancer in 1989, leaving him with four sons. He was divorced from Sabiha Rumani MalikSabiha Rumani Malik
Sabiha Rumani Malik is co-founder and president of , an idea incubator for conceptualisation and implementation of models for alleviation of poverty in economically deprived areas. She is a Pakistan-born British architect, designer, and a psychotherapist....
in 1998 and is currently married to Elena Ochoa Foster
Elena Ochoa Foster
Lady Foster of Thames Bank. , a graduate of Complutense University of Madrid, was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles and a visiting research scholar at the universities of Cambridge , Chicago Kraków , Hamburg , and Pennsylvania , among others...
, Lady Foster of Thames Bank.
A qualified pilot, Foster flies his own private jet and helicopter between his home above the London offices of Foster + Partners, as well to his homes in France and Switzerland. In 2007, Foster bought a Swiss 1720s chateau from the German industrialist Charles Grohe, which became his home from late 2008.
Selected projects
Foster has established an extremely prolific career in the span of four decades. The following are some of his major constructions:Proposed or under construction
- Florence TAV Station, FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy (2003–2010) - York University subway stationYork University (TTC)York University is a planned station of the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. When built, it will be located on the grounds of York University’s main Keele campus, near Ian Macdonald and York Boulevards, and it's expected to open in late 2015...
- TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada (Opening 2015) - Palmer Tompkinson Building, Longslade 2012
- South Beach, SingaporeSouth Beach, SingaporeSouth Beach is a planned commercial and residential complex to be located on Beach Road in the Downtown Core of Singapore. The new development will comprise offices, two hotels, shops and residences. The project includes the restoration of four conservation buildings — the former...
, Singapore, 2012 - Centro Cultural, BogotaBogotáBogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia (2013) - APIIC TowerAPIIC TowerThe Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Tower is a supertall skyscraper planned for construction in Hyderabad, India. At a height of and 100 storeys, it is the second tallest building in construction in India after India Tower in Mumbai...
, Hyderabad, India (2007–2020) - Black Sea Gardens, ByalaByala, Varna ProvinceByala is a small town and seaside resort in Eastern Bulgaria, located on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in Varna Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Byala Municipality and lies in a semi-mountainous region in the easternmost branches of Stara Planina about 50 km south...
, Bulgaria (2008) - Tower, CorkCork (city)Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Republic of Ireland, (2008–2011) - Culture and Leisure Centre, Ciudad del Motor de AragónCiudad del Motor de AragónThe Ciudad del Motor de Aragón, also known as Motorland Aragón, is a race circuit located near Alcañiz, Spain.The circuit has been designed by well-known German architect Hermann Tilke in conjunction with the British architectural firm Foster + Partners...
http://www.laciudaddelmotor.com, AlcañizAlcañizAlcañiz is a town and municipality in the province of Teruel, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. The town is located on the banks of the river Guadalope. Alcañiz is the unofficial capital of the Lower Aragon historical region...
, Spain (2007) (competition won) - Tivoli Hotel, CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark (2010) (competition won) - Museum of Aviation, GetafeGetafeGetafe is a city in the southern zone of the Madrid metropolitan area, Spain, and one of the most populated and industrialized cities in the municipality. The city is home to one of the oldest Spanish military air bases, as well as the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid...
, Spain (currently in design phase) - 200 Greenwich Street, Tower 2 of the planned reconstruction of the World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
in New York City, United States (under construction) - Reconstruction of New Holland IslandNew Holland IslandNew Holland Island in Saint Petersburg was created in 1720, when the newly built Kryukov Canal and Admiralty Canal connected the Moika River with the Neva...
, Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia (ongoing) - Russia TowerRussia TowerThe Russia Tower is a partially built skyscraper in the Moscow International Business Centre of Moscow, Russia. Construction began in September 2007, and was planned to be completed in 2012. The total area of the structure would cover , of which 38% would be located underground...
, Moscow, Russia (cancelled) - U2 TowerU2 TowerThe U2 Tower was a proposed landmark skyscraper to be constructed in Dublin. The site was in the South Docklands campshires, at the corner of Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Britain Quay, by the confluence of the River Liffey, the River Dodder, and the Grand Canal. The design announced on 12 October...
, Dublin, Ireland (2008–2011) (competition won) (construction postponed) - Spinningfield Square, ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, UK (2005–2010) - Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, DallasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, United States (2009) - The Bow, CalgaryCalgaryCalgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Canada (2007–2011) - Jameson House, VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada - The Troika http://www.troika.com.my, Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia (2004–2009) - Queen's Dock, Scottish Exhibition and Conference CentreScottish Exhibition and Conference CentreThe Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre , located on the north bank of the River Clyde, in Glasgow, is Scotland's largest exhibition centre....
, Glasgow, Scotland (2004–2007) - Supreme Court of the United KingdomSupreme Court of the United KingdomThe Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the supreme court in all matters under English law, Northern Ireland law and Scottish civil law. It is the court of last resort and highest appellate court in the United Kingdom; however the High Court of Justiciary remains the supreme court for criminal...
, Middlesex GuildhallMiddlesex GuildhallThe Middlesex Guildhall is the home of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. It stands on the south-west corner of Parliament Square in London.-History:...
, London, United Kingdom (2009) - Khan Shatyry in AstanaAstanaAstana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
, Kazakhstan. - Masdar CityMasdar CityMasdar is a project in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Its core is a planned city, which is being built by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, with the majority of seed capital provided by the government of Abu Dhabi...
, Abu DhabiAbu DhabiAbu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
(2007–2023) - New Yale School of ManagementYale School of ManagementThe Yale School of Management is the graduate business school of Yale University and is located on Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The School offers Master of Business Administration and Ph.D. degree programs. As of January 2011, 454 students were enrolled in its MBA...
campus, New Haven, CT (announced 4 September 2007) - Camp NouCamp NouCamp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
stadium, BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain (announced 18 September 2007) - Crystal IslandCrystal IslandCrystal Island is a proposed building project in Moscow, Russia that is currently planned to have around 2,500,000 square metres of floor space and a height of 450 metres designed by Norman Foster. At these dimensions upon completion it would be the largest structure on earth...
, Moscow, Russia - Zagreb Airport, ZagrebZagrebZagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, Croatia - Hermitage Plaza, Paris (La DéfenseLa DéfenseLa Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...
), France (2010–2014) - Dubai Towers, Melbourne (TBD)
- Future Apple CampusApple CampusThe Apple Campus is the headquarters of Apple Inc., a consumer electronics and PC corporation, located in Cupertino, California. The facility is referred to as a campus because its design resembles the campus of a university, with the buildings arranged around green spaces...
in Cupertino, California.
Completed
- 1970–1971, IBM Pilot Head Office, CoshamCoshamCosham is a northern suburb of Portsmouth lying within the city boundary but off Portsea Island. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 along with Drayton and Wymering and Bocheland , Frodington and Copenore on the island.The name is of Saxon origin and means "Cossa's homestead"...
, PortsmouthPortsmouthPortsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, UK - 1971–1975, Willis Faber and Dumas HeadquartersWillis Building (Ipswich)The Willis building in Ipswich, England is one of the earliest buildings designed by Norman Foster after establishing Foster Associates. Constructed between 1970 and 1975 for the insurance firm now known as Willis Group Holdings, it is now seen as a landmark in the development of the 'high tech'...
, IpswichIpswichIpswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, UK - 1973-1977, Beanhill Housing Estate, Milton KeynesMilton KeynesMilton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
, UK - 1974–1978, Sainsbury Centre for Visual ArtsSainsbury Centre for Visual ArtsThe Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts is an art gallery and museum located on the campus of the University of East Anglia, Norwich in the United Kingdom...
at the University of East AngliaUniversity of East AngliaThe University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
, NorwichNorwichNorwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, UK - 1983, Renault Distribution Centre, SwindonSwindonSwindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, United Kingdom - 1979–1986, HSBC Main Building, Hong Kong
- 1981–1991, Terminal building at London Stansted AirportLondon Stansted Airport-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...
, UK - 1992, Torre de CollserolaTorre de CollserolaTorre de Collserola is a uniquely designed tower located on the Tibidabo hill in the Serra de Collserola, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by architect Sir Norman Foster, and built in 1991 for the 1992 Summer Olympics. It features a pod for floor space like many towers but uses...
, Barcelona, Spain - 1984–1993, Carré d'ArtCarré d'ArtThe Carré d'art at Nîmes in southern France houses a museum of contemporary art and the city's library. Constructed of glass, concrete and steel, it faces the Maison Carrée, a perfectly preserved Roman temple that dates from the 1st century BC. In 1984, twelve architects, including Frank Gehry,...
, NîmesNîmesNîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
, France - 1993, Kings Norton Library, Cranfield UniversityCranfield UniversityCranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...
, UK - 1993, Lycée Albert Camus, FréjusFréjusFréjus is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one town...
, France - 1994, Joslyn Art MuseumJoslyn Art MuseumThe Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in the state of Nebraska, United States of America. Located in Omaha, it is the only museum in the state with a comprehensive permanent collection...
, Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River... - 1988–1995, Metro of BilbaoBilbaoBilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, Spain - 1995, Faculty of Law, CambridgeFaculty of Law, CambridgeThe Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge is one of the faculties at the Sidgwick Site. The building opened in 1996 and was designed by Norman Foster, who also designed the terminal building at Stansted Airport and 30 St Mary Axe...
- 1995–1997, The Clyde AuditoriumClyde AuditoriumThe Clyde Auditorium, familiarly known as "The Armadillo", is an iconic concert venue in Glasgow, Scotland. The building sits on the site of the now infilled Queen's Dock on the River Clyde, adjacent to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre....
, part of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference CentreScottish Exhibition and Conference CentreThe Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre , located on the north bank of the River Clyde, in Glasgow, is Scotland's largest exhibition centre....
in GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland - 1996, National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham. UK
- 1991–1997, Commerzbank TowerCommerzbank TowerCommerzbank Tower, located in the city centre of Frankfurt, Germany, is the tallest completed skyscraper in the European Union. After it was completed in 1997 it ranked as the tallest skyscraper in Europe until 2005 when it was surpassed by the Triumph-Palace in Moscow...
, Frankfurt, Germany - 1992–1998, Hong Kong International AirportHong Kong International AirportHong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...
, Chek Lap KokChek Lap KokChek Lap Kok was an island in the western waters of Hong Kong. Together with the smaller Lam Chau, it was leveled and merged via land reclamation into the platform for the current Hong Kong International Airport, which opened for commercial operations in 1998...
, Hong Kong - 1993–1998, Valencia Congress Centre, Valencia, Spain
- 1999, Redevelopment of the Great CourtQueen Elizabeth II Great CourtThe central quadrangle of the British Museum in London was redeveloped to a design by Foster and Partners, from a 1970s design by Colin St John Wilson, to become the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, commonly referred to simply as the Great Court, during the late 1990s...
of the British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, London, United Kingdom - 1999, Social Sciences Division, Manor Road Building, University of Oxford, UK
- 1999, ReichstagReichstag (building)The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. During the Nazi era, the few meetings of members of the...
restoration, Berlin, Germany - 2000, Greater London Authority BuildingCity Hall (London)City Hall is the headquarters of the Greater London Authority which comprises the Mayor of London and London Assembly. It is located in Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames near Tower Bridge...
(London City Hall), London, United Kingdom - 1996–2000, Millennium Bridge, London, United Kingdom
- 2000, Center for Clinical Science Research, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
- 2001, Expo MRT StationExpo MRT StationThe Expo MRT Station ' was opened on 10 January 2001, and is part of the Singapore MRT Changi Airport Extension to the existing East West Line. It sports a space age architecture designed by world renowned architect Sir Norman Foster...
, Singapore - 2001, Al Faisaliyah CenterAl Faisaliyah CenterThe Al Faisaliyah Center is a commercial skyscraper located in the business district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is the second tallest building in Saudi Arabia after the Kingdom Centre. Immediately below it an outside viewing deck; at ground level, there is a shopping center with major world brands...
, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - 2001, La Poterie metroRapid transitA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
station, RennesRennesRennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
, France - 2001, J SainsburyJ SainsburyJ. Sainsbury plc is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsbury's, the third largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.5%....
headquarters, Holborn CircusHolbornHolborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
, London - 1999–2001, Lionel Robbins Building renovation, British Library of Political and Economic ScienceBritish Library of Political and Economic ScienceThe British Library of Political and Economic Science is the main library of theLondon School of Economics and Political Science, and the world's largest political and social sciences library .-Description:...
, London School of EconomicsLondon School of EconomicsThe London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, London, United Kingdom - 2002, 8 Canada Square (HSBC Group Head Office), London
- 1997–2003, Metropolitan Building in WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
- 2003, Clark Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
- 2003, Universiti Teknologi PetronasUniversiti Teknologi PetronasUniversiti Teknologi PETRONAS was established on 10 January 1997 when PETRONAS was invited by the Government of Malaysia to set up a university.-History:...
main campus, Malaysia - 2003, Capital City Academy, London UK
- 1997–2004, 30 St Mary Axe30 St Mary Axe30 St Mary Axe, the Swiss Re Building , is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London, completed in December 2003 and opened at the end of May 2004...
, Swiss ReSwiss ReSwiss Reinsurance Company Ltd , generally known as Swiss Re, is a Swiss reinsurance company. It is the world’s second-largest reinsurer, after having acquired GE Insurance Solutions. The company has its headquarters in Zurich...
London headquarters, London, United Kingdom - 2004, The Sage GatesheadSage GatesheadThe Sage Gateshead is a centre for musical education, performance and conferences, located in Gateshead on the south bank of the River Tyne, in the northeast of England...
, GatesheadGatesheadGateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, UK - 2004, McLaren Technology CentreMcLaren Technology CentreThe McLaren Technology Centre is the headquarters of the McLaren Group, located on a 500,000 m² site in Woking, Surrey, England. It is a large, roughly semi-circular, glass-walled building, designed by the architect Norman Foster and his company, Foster and Partners. The building was short-listed...
, WokingWokingWoking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, United Kingdom - 2004, Tanaka Business SchoolTanaka Business SchoolImperial College Business School is a constituent faculty of Imperial College London located on its South Kensington campus in West London.Its high-tech building was designed by Foster and Partners and Buro Happold...
, Imperial College LondonImperial College LondonImperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine... - 2004, The Millau ViaductMillau ViaductThe Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. Designed by the British architect Norman Foster and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux, it is the tallest bridge in the world, with one mast's summit at . It is the...
, near MillauMillauMillau is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. It is located at the confluence of the Tarn and Dourbie rivers.-History:...
, France - 2005, Supreme Court Building, Singapore
- 2005, Western Årsta BridgeÅrstabroarnaÅrstabroarna are two parallel railway viaducts in central Stockholm, Sweden. Passing over the watercourse of Årstaviken and the islets Årsta holmar, they connect the major island Södermalm to the southern mainland district Årsta.- Eastern Årsta Bridge :...
, Stockholm, Sweden - 2005, 40 luxury apartments, St. MoritzSt. MoritzSt. Moritz is a resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...
, Switzerland - 2005, National Police MemorialNational Police MemorialThe National Police Memorial is a memorial in central London, commemorating about 4000 police officers killed in the course of their duties in the United Kingdom. It was designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank and Per Arnoldi and unveiled in 2005...
, The MallThe Mall (London)The Mall in central London is the road running from Buckingham Palace at its western end to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square at its eastern end. It then crosses Spring Gardens, which was where the Metropolitan Board of Works and, for a number of years, the London County Council were...
, London, United Kingdom - 2005, The Philological LibraryPhilological LibraryThe Philological Library is the newest component of the campus of the Free University of Berlin. It was designed by noted architect Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank in the shape of a human brain, and opened in 2005. The library has become the centerpiece of the university's Dahlem campus...
at the Free University of BerlinFree University of BerlinFreie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...
, Germany - 2005, Deutsche Bank PlaceDeutsche Bank PlaceDeutsche Bank Place is a skyscraper in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located at 126 Phillip Street in the north-eastern end of the central business district, across the road from Chifley Tower. Construction began in 2002 and was completed in 2005. The building's architect is Norman...
, Sydney, Australia (the first Sir Norman Foster building in the Southern Hemisphere) - 2002–2006, Dresden HauptbahnhofDresden Hauptbahnhofis one of two main inter-city transit hubs in the German city of Dresden. Designed by Ernst Giese and Paul Weidner, it was built between 1892 and 1897 at the southern border of the inner city and was important in the growth and development of the city....
reconstruction, DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany - 2006, Hearst TowerHearst Tower (New York City)The Brilliant Hearst Tower is located at 300 West 57th Street, 959 8th Avenue, near Columbus Circle in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York...
, New York City, United States - 2006, The Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building at the University of TorontoUniversity of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, Canada - 2006, Palace of Peace and ReconciliationPalace of Peace and ReconciliationThe Palace of Peace and Reconciliation is a 77 m high building in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The structure was built...
, AstanaAstanaAstana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
, Kazakhstan - 2002–2007, Wembley StadiumWembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, London, United Kingdom - 2004–2007, The Willis Building, City of London, United Kingdom
- 2005–2007, Thomas Deacon AcademyThomas Deacon AcademyThe Thomas Deacon Academy is an academy located in Peterborough, England. Built by contractors Laing O'Rourke to a design by Foster and Partners and Buro Happold, the academy's construction began in June 2005, and it opened to students in September 2007...
- 2004–2007, Kogod Courtyard, Center for American Art and Portraiture at the National Portrait GalleryNational Portrait Gallery (United States)The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in Washington, D.C., administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous individual Americans.-Building:...
, Washington, DC - 2007, International Terminal, Beijing Capital International AirportBeijing Capital International AirportBeijing Capital International Airport, is the main international airport serving Beijing, China. It is located northeast of Beijing's city center in an enclave of Chaoyang District that is surrounded by rural Shunyi District. The airport is owned and operated by the Beijing Capital...
, Beijing, China - 2006–2008, Lumiere residences, Regent Place, Sydney, Australia
- 2006–2008, John Spoor Broome LibraryJohn Spoor Broome LibraryThe John Spoor Broome Library is located on the California State University, Channel Islands campus in Camarillo, California.The library formally opened on April 4, 2008. It is the intersection of tradition and innovation; the physical and intellectual; print and electronic; and teaching and...
, California State University Channel Islands. - 2007–2008, New Elephant House, Copenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2004–2008, Torre Caja MadridTorre Caja MadridThe Torre Caja Madrid is a skyscraper located in the Cuatro Torres Business Area in Madrid, Spain. With a height of and 45 floors, it is the tallest of the four buildings in the Cuatro Torres Business Area complex, surpassing Torre de Cristal by less than a metre, and the tallest building in...
, Madrid, Spain - 2010, Art of the Americas Wing at the Museum of Fine Arts, BostonMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonThe Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, Boston, Massachusetts, US
Non-architectural projects
Foster's other design work has included the Nomos desk system for Italian manufacturer Tecno, and the motor yacht Izanami (later Ronin) for Lürssen Yachts.External links
- Foster and Partners
- Bio at the Pritzker Prize
- Interview with Norman Foster(video)
- Foster's projects on the map, Guardian gallery of 16 projects
- Building "The Gherkin" (film)
- A (video) tour of the Clark Center
- Norman Foster's building Valencia Conference Centre
- Foster and Partners Projects in the Middle East
- TED Talks: Norman Foster's green agenda at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in 2007 - Foster chosen for iconic redevelopment Mikhail Bode, Russia Beyond the HeadlinesRussia Beyond the HeadlinesRussia Beyond the Headlines is a branch of Russian state-owned newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta which publishes a number of foreign-language newspaper supplements and maintains the RBTH news website. The supplements are included in international newspapers in an effort to cultivate a positive view of...
18 December 2007 - "Driven designer constructs a global empire," Financial Times, 30 January 2011
- "Norman Foster" (Review of Norman Foster: A Life in Architecture, by Deyan Sudjic), Financial Times, 5 June 2010