The Philosophy of Norman Foster

Norman Robert Foster, also

known as Baron Foster of

Thames Bank, OM, RA, born

on June 1, 1935. A British

Architect whose company,

Foster + Partners maintains an

international design practice

famous for high-tech

architecture. And he is also the

President of Norman Foster

Foundation.

One of the Britain’s most prolific architects of his generation. In 1994, he received the

AIA gold medal. In 1999, he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, often

referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. And in 2009, Foster was awarded the

Price of Asturias Award in the Arts category.

Early life of Norman Foster

Norman Foster was born to Robert Foster and Lilian Smith, in 1935 in Reddish,

Stockport, Cheshire. He attended Burnage Grammar School for Boys in Burnage.

Foster described Manchester as “one of the workshops of the world” and “the

embodiment of great city”.

His father, Robert, worked at Metropolitan-Vickers which fueled his interest in

engineering and design. His father convinced him to take entrance exam for
Manchester Town Hall’s trainee which he passed in 1951 and took a job as an office

junior in the Treasurer’s Department.

Education

Foster took a job as assistant to a contract manager with John Bearshaw and Partners,

a local architectural practice. In 1956, he won a place at the University of Manchester

School of Architecture and City Planning. To be able to support his studies he took up

a number of part-time jobs including becoming an ice-cream salesman. He has a

strong interest in the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van de Rohe, Le

Corbusier and Niemeyer. In 1961, he graduated from Manchester.

Foster won the Henry Fellowship to the Yale School of Architecture, where he met his

future business partner Richard Rogers and earned his master’s degree. Encouraged

by Vincent Scully, Foster and Rogers travelled in America for a year. After returning

to the UK in 1963 he set up an architectural practice as Team 4 with Richard Rogers,

Su Brumwell and the sisters Georgie and Wendy Cheesman. Team 4 quickly earned

a reputation for high-tech industrial design. Georgie was the only one of the team that

passed her RIBA exams allowing them to set up in practice on their own.

Foster + Partners

Who are Foster + Partners?

“Foster + Partners is a global studio for sustainable architecture, urbanism and design,

founded by Norman Foster in 1967. Since then, he, and the team around him, have

established an international practice with a worldwide reputation.”

Associates in 1967 which later on became Foster and Partners in 1999. Originally,

they concentrated on industrial buildings.

One of the earliest

buildings designed by

Norman Foster and Wendy

Cheesman after

establishing Foster

Associates.

Willis Building in Impswich, United Kingdom

Constructed between 1970

and 1975 for the insurance

firm now known as Willis

Towers Watson. He

created an open plan office

floor long. The building has

a full-height glass façade

moulded to medieval street plan and contributes drama, subtly shifting from

opaque, reflective black to a glowing backlit transparency as the sun sets.

United States

It is the world headquarters

of Hearst Communications,

housing most of the

numerous publications and

communications companies of the media conglomerate under one roof.

The six-story base of the headquarters building was commissioned by the

founder, William Randolph Hearst, and awarded to the architect Joseph

Urban.

Originally built as the base for a proposed skyscraper, the construction of the

tower was postponed due to the Great Depression.

The uncommon triangular framing pattern (also known as a diagrid) required

9,500 metric tons (10,480 tons) of structural steel- reportedly about 20% less

than a conventional steel frame. It is the first “green” high-rise office building

completed in New York City, with a number of environment considerations

built into the plan.

The Gherkin in London, United Kingdom

Swiss Re Building,

informally known as The

Gherkin, is a commercial

skyscraper in London’s

primary financial district, the

City of London.
 The building has become a recognisable feature of London, and it is one of

the city’s most widely examples of contemporary architecture.

The Millau Viaduct in Southern

France

It is a cable-stayed bridge

that spans the gorge valley

of the Tarn near Millau in

southern France. In a

Franco-British partnership.

The bridge is part of the A75-A71 autoroute axis formfrom Paris to BéBziers

and Montpellier. It was designed by the English Architect Lord Norman Foster

and French Structural Engineer Michael Virlogeux.

Apple Park in Cupertino,

California, USA

It is the corporate

headquarters of Apple Inc...

Foster was Apple’s

immediate choice to design

the project. He designed

every detail, from the glass panels to the elevator buttons.

Road, Central, Hong Kong

HSBC is one of the world’s

largest banking and

financial services

organisations. It is a

headquarters building of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

Philosophy of Norman Foster

“Architecture is an expression of Formatted: Font: Arial Narrow, 15 pt, Not Italic, Font
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values.”
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- Norman Foster single
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a balancing act of integrating and somehow responding to all the needs of project:

material and measurable; as well as the spiritual and intangible, the subjective; it is

somehow about making all those value judgements.

For Foster, “Great architecture should wear it’s message lightly.” He believes a good

architect should have an open mind, energy, an appetite for hard work, a willingness

to explore new solutions and push boundaries.

“Architecture is about the social agenda.” For him, how we build reflects how we live,

and architecture is the embodiment of our civic values. He designed the hall as a

transparent, open, and accessible space. He used glass to express the uncensored

dialogue of democracy. He added, “Public spaces are more important than building.

They make a city alive.”

For his efforts, Foster and his work have won just about every prize that the

architecture field has to offer. Great Britain has granted him the title Lord Foster of

Thames Bank. But in June, Foster did something unusual when he unveiled his

private foundation.

''As an architect, you design for the Formatted: Font: Arial Narrow, 15 pt, Font color: Text
1, Text Outline
present, with an awareness of the past, for
a future which is essentially unknown.''
- Ar. Norman Foster Formatted: Centered