One of the world’s most famous living architects, Norman Foster has constructed and reconstructed some of the most famous landmarks around the world and is an integral contributor to metropolitan skylines like those in New York and London.

Foster was born in 1935 in Manchester as an only child to working-class parents living in poverty.  

He left school at age sixteen to work as an office junior at the Manchester Town Hall, then worked at the Royal Air Force as a radar technician, and later took on a variety of manual jobs. 

Despite witnessing difficulties with admission into university without A-Levels, he managed to graduate from the Manchester University School of Architecture and City Planning in 1961. He then went to the Yale School of Architecture.

He established Foster Associates in London with his late wife Wendy in 1967, which would later come to be known as the leading architectural firm Foster + Partners.

Foster’s architectural style, typically described as high-tech and modernist, employs the innovative use of materials like steel and glass.

At the core of the British architect’s practice is a “responsibility framework” that includes principles of sustainable design, with a central focus on visitors’ wellbeing.  

Famous buildings built by Foster include the Bundestag in Berlin, the Hearst Tower in New York and more around the world.

Foster is likely most famous for his “Gherkin” building in London’s financial district, which houses the reinsurance group Swiss Re Group.  

In a close relationship with Apple,  Foster + Partners designs Apple stores around the world, like Apple Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, Apple Cotai Central in Cotai, Apple Champs-Elysees in Paris, Apple Piazza Liberty in Milan, and more.

In 2017, he launched the Norman Foster Foundation (NFF) with the mission of promoting “interdisciplinary thinking and research to help new generations of architects, designers and urbanists anticipate the future.”

 The foundation’s headquarters are situated in a heritage-listed residential Palace in Madrid, Spain, that was reconstructed and expanded by the studio.  

He received a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his service to national architecture in 1990, and later in 1997, was appointed by the Queen to the Order of Merit. In 1999 he received life peerage which made him Lord Foster of Thames Bank.

In 1999, he won the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour.

FAMOUS BUILDINGS BY NORMAN FOSTER

The famous buildings by Foster + Partners are spread far and wide across the globe. Read on to discover some of the most interesting designs.

HEARST TOWER, NEW YORK (2006)

Hearst Tower, 300 West 57th Street, Manhattan, New York. Credit: Leonard J. DeFrancisci/Wikimedia Commons

In 2006, the Manhattan skyline welcomed a “newbie” that would quickly become one of the most iconic buildings in both its silhouette and across the entire Big Apple: the Hearst Tower.

Built for the multinational media conglomerate Hearst Corporation, the 46-storey tower employs a highly-efficient solution –  its “diagrid” shape – that uses 20% less steel than traditional frame constructions.

The design is built upon an older podium structure and maintains its facade.  

As a result, the new tower looks like it's floating above the older base in a cheeky retrofit endeavour. The corners are cut back between the diagonals, giving the building its iconic silhouette.

The Hearst Tower’s heating and air conditioning rely on external air for cooling and ventilation for much of the year.

THE GHERKIN BUILDING, LONDON (2004)

30 St Mary Axe skyscraper in London. Credit: Paste/Wikimedia Commons

The 30 St Mary Axe, commonly known as the “Gherkin” for its pickle-like shape, was commissioned by the reinsurance group Swiss Re Group.

Its silhouette is a signature component of the London financial centre skyline, recognisable from miles away. 

Standing 590 feet high across 693ft², the building is built on a circular floor plan, widening as it goes up and tapering towards the top. This structure, with a slim profile at the base, maximises public space at street level.

Inside, atria at each floor across its forty-one floors connect vertically, creating the building’s “lungs” – a series of socially-driven spaces spiralling up the building that allow for natural ventilation.

LONDON CITY HALL (2002)

A view of City Hall in London from the Thames River. Credit: DaringDonna/Wikimedia Commons

Located in the Southwark neighbourhood on the south bank of the River Thames, the London City Hall houses the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. Built at a cost of £43mil, the iconic building stands at 150 feet high.

Using computer modelling techniques, its structure is built upon a geometrically modified sphere and appears egg-shaped, which grants the building optimal energy performance by minimising the surface area receiving direct sunlight.

London City Hall comes alive at night when it’s lit up and its distinctive cladding is highlighted.

BUNDESTAG, BERLIN (1999)

Reichstag building seen from Berlin, Germany. Credit: Norbert Nagel/Wikimedia Commons

One of the most important buildings in Berlin, the Reichstag Building is home to the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament.

The building was badly damaged by a fire and bombing attacks in World War II. The reconstruction was commissioned to Paul Baumgarten and completed in 1973, but the dome — or cupola – was left out.  

In 1992, Foster won a competition to complete it, and it was fully realised by 1999.  

The design of the cupola relies on a “light sculptor” that reflects natural light downwards during the day, and upwards at night – a “beacon signalling the vigour of the German democratic process.’

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Cover Credit: Reichstag Done, Berlin. Credit: Ank Kumar/Wikimedia Commons

Writer | Bana Bissat

Bana Bissat is a Milan-based writer who reports on sound art for Sound of Life. She has written for Flash Art, Lampoon, and Cultured. @banabissat

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