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The Lord Foster of Thames Bank
Born 1 June 1935
Stockport, England
Nationality British
Awards Stirling Prize
Pritzker Architecture Prize
Minerva Medal
Prince of Asturias Award
AIA Gold Medal
Practice Foster + Partners
Buildings30 St Mary Axe, London
Willis Faber and Dumas Headquarters,
Ipswich
Wembley Stadium
Projects American Air Museum at the Imperial
War Museum Duxford
Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames BankFrom Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia
Norman Robert Foster, Lord Foster of ThamesBank, OM Kt. (born 1
June 1935) is an English architectwhose company maintains an
international design practice,Foster + Partners.
Foster was raised in Manchester in a working-class familyand was
intrigued by design and engineering from a youngage. His years
observing Mancunian architecturesubsequently influenced his works,
and was inspired topursue a career in architecture after a
treasurer clerknoticed his sketches and interest in Manchester's
buildings
while he worked at Manchester Town Hall.[1]
Foster gained an internship at a local architect's officebefore
submitting a portfolio and winning a place at theUniversity of
Manchester School of Architecture. Hesubsequently won a scholarship
to study at the YaleSchool of Architecture in the United States of
America.
Foster returned to the United Kingdom in 1963 and setup a
practice, Team 4. Three years later, he foundedFoster &
Associates with his wife Wendy, which becameFoster + Partners. His
breakthrough building wasarguably the Willis Building in Ipswich in
1975 and he hassince designed landmark structures such as
WembleyStadium and 30 St Mary Axe. He is one of Britain's most
prolific architects of his generation.[2] In 1999 he wasawarded
the Pritzker Architecture Prize, often referred to
as the Nobel Prize of architecture.[3] In 2009 Foster wasawarded
the Prince of Asturias Award in the Artscategory. In 1994 he
received the AIA Gold Medal.
Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early life in Manchester
1.2 Education
1.3 Foster and Partners
1.4 Present day
2 Recognition
3 Personal life
4 Works
5 See also6 References
7 External links
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Alfred Waterhouse's Manchester
Town Hall, where Foster worked as a
junior clerk.
Biography
Early life in Manchester
Foster was born to Robert Foster and Lilian Smith[4] in 1935 in
Reddish, Stockport. Foster has no recollection
of Reddish[4] as his parents rented a terraced house, 4 Crescent
Grove in Levenshulme, Manchester for
fourteen shillings a week soon after his birth.[5]
Foster's parents were diligent, hard workers - so diligent that
Foster, as an only child, felt their heavy workload
restricted his relationship with them and he was often looked
after by neighbours or other family members.[6] He
attended Grammar School in Burnage. He said he always felt
'different' at school and was bullied.[7] He retired
into the world of books and was quiet and awkward in his early
years making faux pas.[8]
Manchester was 'one of the workshops of the world'[7] during
his
childhood, and 'the embodiment of a great city'.[9] His father,
Robert,worked at Metropolitan-Vickers at Trafford Park which
fuelled his
interest in engineering and design.[7] As a youngster, he
wasfascinated with engineering and the process of designing which
caused
him to pursue a career designing buildings.[10] Specific
interests
included aircraft, a hobby he maintains today;[10] and
trains,generated by viewing passing trains on the railway outside
his terraced
home during his childhood.[10] Foster was not keen on sports,
butfrequently cycled to the Lake District from Manchester and back
the
same day.[11]
Foster's father convinced him to take the entrance exam for
Manchester Town Hall's trainee scheme[12] which he passed in
1951
and took a job as an office junior in the Treasurer's
Department.[12] His parents were pleased, but he wasdisappointed.
Bored with office work, he ventured into the city to observe
buildings during his lunch breaks andsketched designs while at his
desk. A clerk, Mr Cobb, became aware of Foster's interests. Cobb's
son was
studying architecture and his interest led to Foster considering
a career in architecture.[13] After working in theManchester City
Treasurer's office Foster completed his National Service in 1953
serving in the Royal Air
Force, a choice inspired by his passion for aircraft.[14]
Foster returned to Manchester, not wanting to return to the town
hall as his parents wished and unsure of which
path to follow.[15] With 7 O-levels, he applied for a job at a
duplicating office machine company and whenasked by the interviewer
why he applied, Foster replied: 'mainly because it offered the
prospect of a company
car, and a 1,000 salary.'[16] Foster was searching for a world
away from his working-class roots which led the
alienation of his parents.[17]
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.[16] Foster was unsure how tobecome an architect,
and if it was even possible coming from a working-class background
where money fortuition was slim. Nevertheless, he queried
colleagues at the architecture practice for advice on how to
becomean architect. Advised to create a portfolio to hand to an
architecture school, he took various drawings, such as
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Foster lecturing in 2001
Foster ventured around Manchester
observing buildings. The art deco
Express Building in Manchester was a
building that intrigued him.
The Willis Faber and Dumas
Headquarters in Ipswich was one of
Foster's earliest commissions after
founding Foster Associates.
perspective and shop drawings from Beardstow's practice as
inspiration.[18] Foster intended to submit thisportfolio 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.[19] However aftertrying to convince
Foster to stay and learn his trade as an architect at Beardstow's,
Foster declined and wantedto pursue a place at an architecture
school.
After he was discharged, in1956 Foster won a place atthe
University ofManchester School ofArchitecture and CityPlanning.
Foster failed toget a grant to help fund hisstudies, and being from
aworking-class backgroundmoney was at a minimum.He took up a number
of
part-time jobs to fund his studies in Architecture.[20] His jobs
in histeenage years included being an ice-cream salesman,
night-club
bouncer[20] and working night shifts at the local bakery to
make
crumpets.[7] He combined these with self-tuition via visits to
the local
library in Levenshulme.[21] 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.[7]
Foster won the Henry Fellowship to the Yale School of
Architecture, where he met future business partnerRichard Rogers
and earned his Master's degree. Vincent Scully encouraged Foster
and Rogers to travel in
America for a year.[22] After returning to the UK in 1963 he set
up an architectural practice as Team 4 withRogers and the sisters
Georgie and Wendy Cheesman. Georgie (later Wolton) was the only one
of the team thathad passed her RIBA exams allowing them to set up
in practice on their own. Team 4 quickly earned areputation for
high-tech industrial design.
Foster and Partners
After Team 4 went their separate ways, Foster and WendyCheesman
founded Foster Associates, which later became Fosterand Partners in
1967. A long period of collaboration with Americanarchitect Richard
Buckminster Fuller began in 1968 and continueduntil Fuller's death
in 1983. They collaborated on several projects thatbecame catalysts
in the development of an environmentally sensitiveapproach to
design including the Samuel Beckett Theatre project.
Originally they concentrated on industrial buildings. The
turning pointwas the 1969 administrative and leisure center for
Fred. Olsen Linesin London Docklands, where workers and managers
are not
separated any more.[22] Foster and Partners' breakthrough
building inthe UK was the Willis Faber & Dumas headquarters in
Ipswich, of1974. The client was a family run insurance company
which wantedto restore a sense of community to the workplace.
Foster created open plan office floors long before open-planbecame
the norm. In a town not over-endowed with public facilities, the
roof gardens, 25 metre swimming pool
and gymnasium enhanced the quality of life for the company's
1200 employees.[23] The building has a full-height
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The HSBC Building in Hong Kong.
Designed by Foster in the 1980s
View of 30 St Mary Axe.
The building serves as the
London headquarters for
Swiss Re and is informally
known as 'The Gherkin'.
The restored Reichstag in Berlin,
housing the German parliament.
The dome is part of Foster's
redesign.
glass facade moulded to the medieval street plan and contributes
drama, subtly shifting from opaque, reflectiveblack to a glowing
backlit transparency as the sun sets. The design was inspired by
the Daily Express Building inManchester a work Foster admired in
his youth. The building is now Grade II* listed.
Foster gained a reputation for designing office buildings. In
the 1980she designed the HSBC Main Building in Hong Kong for HSBC.
Thebuilding is marked by its high level of light transparency, as
all 3500workers have a view to Victoria Peak or Hong Kong bay and
the
Chinese mainland.[24] Foster said that if the firm had not won
thecontract it would probably have been bankrupted. Foster
believesthat attracting young talent is essential, and is proud
that the averageage of people working for Foster and Partners is
32, just like it was in
1967.[22]
Present day
Foster was assigned the brief for adevelopment on the site of
the BalticExchange in the 1990s. TheExchange was damaged
beyondrepair by a bomb left by the IRA.Foster + Partners submitted
a planfor a 385 metre tall skyscraper, theLondon Millennium Tower,
but its height was seen as excessive for London's
skyline.[25] The proposal was scrapped and instead Foster
proposed 30 StMary Axe, "the gherkin" due to its design which
alluded to its shape. Fosterworked with engineers to integrate
complex computer systems with the mostbasic physical laws, such as
convection. Green, sustainable energy ideasinclude the complex
facade which lets in air for passive cooling and vents it asit
warms and rises.
Foster's earlier designs reflected asophisticated,
machine-influenced high-tech vision. His style has evolved into
amore sharp-edged modernity. In 2004,
Foster designed the tallest bridge in the world, the Millau
Viaduct insouthern France, with the Millau Mayor Jacques Godfrain
stating; "The
architect, Norman Foster, gave us a model of art."[26]
In January 2007, The Sunday Times reported that Foster had
called inCatalyst, a corporate finance house, to find buyers for
Foster + Partners.Foster does not intend to retire, but sell his
8090% holding in the
company valued at 300M to 500M.[27]
In 2007, he worked with Philippe Starck and Sir Richard Branson
of the
Virgin Group for the Virgin Galactic plans.[28]
Foster currently sits on the Board of Trustees at architectural
charity Article 25 who design, construct andmanage innovative,
safe, sustainable buildings in some of the most inhospitable and
unstable regions of theworld. He has also been on the Board of
Trustees of The Architecture Foundation.
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The Hearst Tower in New
York City.
Recognition
In 1986, he was awarded an honorary degree (Doctor of Science)
from the
University of Bath.[29]
Foster was knighted in 1990[30] and appointed to the Order of
Merit in
1997.[31] On 19 July 1999, he was created a life peer, as Baron
Foster of
Thames Bank, of Reddish in the County of Greater
Manchester.[32][33] Asa resident of Switzerland, in 2010 he stepped
down from his seat in theHouse of Lords in order to maintain his
non-domiciled status, and so be able
to avoid paying UK residents' taxes on income earned
abroad.[34][35] Fosterwas criticised by some in the architecture
world for not advocating theimportance of high standards of
architecture and planning whilst a member of
the House of Lords.[36] Foster last spoke in the Lords in 2003
before his
resignation in 2010.[36]
He is the second British architect to win the Stirling Prize
twice: the first timefor the American Air Museum at the Imperial
War Museum Duxford in1998, and the second for 30 St Mary Axe in
2004. In consideration of hiswhole portfolio, Foster was awarded
the Pritzker Architecture Prize in1999. He is a Fellow of the
Chartered Society of Designers and winner of the Minerva Medal, its
highest
award. Foster is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures
Council.[37]
Foster received the The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and
Urban Habitat in 2007 to honor his contributions to the
advancement of tall buildings.[38]
He was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, for the
University of Technology Petronas in
Malaysia,[39][40] and in 2008 he was granted an honorary degree
from the Dundee School of Architecture at theUniversity of Dundee.
In 2009 he received the Prince of Asturias Award in the category
Arts.
Personal life
Norman Foster is married to Elena Ochoa, a Spanish publisher and
art curator, Founder and CEO of Ivory-press. They have two children
together, but Norman Foster has five himself, four sons and one
daughter: JayFoster (son), Ti Foster (son), Cal Foster (son),
Eduardo Foster (son), and Paola Foster (daughter).
Works
Main article: List of works by Norman Foster
See also
Thin-shell structurePeter Rice
SkyCycle (proposed transport project)
References
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Footnotes
1. ^ Sudjic 2010.
2. ^ Chris Roberts, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason
Behind Rhyme, Thorndike Press,2006
3. ^ Goldberger, Paul (28 May 1988). "Architecture View; What
Pritzker Winners Tell Us About the
Prize"(http://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/29/arts/architecture-view-what-pritzker-winners-tell-us-about-the-prize.html).
The New York Times.
4. ^a b Sudjic 2010, p. 11.
5. ^ Moore, Rowan (23 May 2010). "Norman Foster: A Life in
Architecture by Deyan
Sudjic"(http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/23/norman-foster-biography-book-review).
The Observer(London). Retrieved 6 October 2011.
6. ^ Sudjic 2010, p. 19.
7. ^a b c d e "The Guardian Profile: Sir Norman Foster: The
master
builder"(http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/1999/jan/02/books.guardianreview10).
The Guardian (London). 2 January1999. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
8. ^ "Book review: Norman Foster: A Life in Architecture"
(http://www.scotsman.com/features/Book-review-Norman-Foster-A.6357545.jp).
scotsman.com. 13 June 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
9. ^ Sudjic 2010, p. 32.
10. ^a b c "Taller, higher, bigger, Foster"
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2005/oct/24/architecture).
TheGuardian (London). 24 October 2005. Retrieved 5 October
2011.
11. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (29 June 2010). "Norman Foster at 75:
Norman's
conquests"(http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jun/29/norman-foster-interview).
The Guardian. Retrieved 4March 2012.
12. ^a b Sudjic 2010, p. 27.
13. ^ Sudjic 2010, p. 30.
14. ^ Sudjic 2010, p. 34.
15. ^ Sudjic 2010, p. 35.
16. ^a b Sudjic 2010, p. 36.
17. ^ Sudjic 2010, p. 37.
18. ^ Sudjic 2010, p. 39.
19. ^ Sudjic 2010, p. 40.
20. ^a b "Norman Foster: Building the future"
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/742087.stm). BBC News. 9 May2000.
Retrieved 5 October 2011.
21. ^ Thistlethwaite, Laura (30 October 2008). "Architect's
Levenshulme inpsiration
[sic]"(http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1076763_architects_levenshulme_inpsiration).Manchester
Evening News (M.E.N. Media). Retrieved 5 October 2011.
22. ^a b c How much does your building weigh, Mr.
Foster?(http://www.sendungen.sf.tv/sternstunden/Nachrichten/Archiv/2011/11/29/sternstundeneinzel/Sternstunde-Kunst-vom-4.-Dezember-2011),
Sternstunde Kultur, Schweizer Fernsehen, 4 December 2011.
23. ^ "Lord Norman Foster
portrait"(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/nationaltreasures/2188199/Lord-Norman-Foster-portrait.html).The
Telegraph (London: Telegraph Media Group). 24 June 2008. Retrieved
1 October 2011.
24. ^ Treiber, Daniel (1995). Norman Foster. E & FN Spon. p.
76.
25. ^ "London Millennium Tower"
(http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=102960).Emporis.
Retrieved 10 October 2011.
26. ^ "France shows off tallest bridge"
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4091813.stm). BBC News. 14 December
2004.Retrieved 1 October 2011.
27. ^ Hamilton, Fiona (21 January 2007). "Foster puts 500m firm
up for
sale"(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2559000,00.html).
The Times (London).
28. ^ Carr d'Art, Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Anagramme Ed., 2008, p.
134
29. ^ "Honorary Graduates 1989 to present"
(http://www.bath.ac.uk/ceremonies/hongrads/). bath.ac.uk.
Universityof Bath. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
30. ^ London Gazette no. 52543. p. 8207
31. ^ London Gazette no. 54962. p. 13399
32. ^ London Gazette no. 55565. p. 8128
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32. ^ London Gazette no. 55565. p. 8128
33. ^ Minute Office, House of Lords. "Announcement of Foster's
introduction at the House of
Lords"(http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199899/minutes/991103/ldminute.htm).
Publications.parliament.uk.Retrieved 29 April 2011.
34. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (12 July 2010). "Norman Foster in the
Lords: what might have
been"(http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jul/12/norman-foster-house-of-lords).
guardian.co.uk (London:Guardian News and Media). Retrieved 12 July
2010.
35. ^ "Tory donor Lord Ashcroft gives up non-dom tax status"
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/politics/10535852.stm).BBC News. 7 July
2010.
36. ^a b Glancey, Jonathan (12 July 2010). "Norman Foster in the
Lords: what might have
been"(http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jul/12/norman-foster-house-of-lords).
guardian.co.uk (London:Guardian News and Media). Retrieved 7
October 2011.
37. ^ Design Futures Council Senior Fellows
http://www.di.net/about/senior_fellows/
38. ^ "2007 Lynn S. Beedle Award
Winner"(http://www.ctbuh.org/Awards/AllPastWinners/07_LordNormanFoster/tabid/1050/language/en-GB/Default.aspx).
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 17 May
2012.
39. ^ "The Tenth Award Cycle 20052007"
(http://www.akdn.org/akaa_award10.asp). The Aga KhanDevelopment
Network. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
40. ^ "Petronas University of Technology receives 2007 Aga Khan
Award for
Architecture"(http://www.fosterandpartners.com/News/302/Default.aspx).
Foster + Partners. 9 April 2007. Retrieved 21January 2009.
Bibliography
Sudjic, Deyan (2010). Norman Foster: A life in architecture.
Weidenfeld. ISBN 978-0-297-85868-
3.
External links
Foster and Partners (http://www.fosterandpartners.com/)Bio at
the Pritzker Prize
(http://www.pritzkerprize.com/pdf99/Sec2.pdf)
Lord Norman Robert Foster
(http://en.structurae.de/persons/data/index.cfm?ID=d000042)
information
at Structurae
Interview with Norman Foster(video)
(http://www.wtc.com/media/videos/Norman%20Foster)
Foster's projects on the map
(http://proyecto.localizarq.es/etiquetas/foster-norman/), Guardian
gallery of
16 projects
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2010/may/23/norman-foster-architecture?
picture=362938462)
Building "The Gherkin" (film)
(http://www.artfilm.ch/buildingthegherkin.php?lang=e&id=buildingthegherkin&suche=dvds)
A (video) tour of the Clark Center
(http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2003/october22/clark-video-
1022.html)
Norman Foster's building Valencia Conference Centre
(http://www.palcongres-vlc.com/index_eng.asp/)
Foster and Partners Projects in the Middle East
(http://www.worldarab.net/content/norman-foster)
TED Talks: Norman Foster's green agenda
(http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/174) at TED in 2007
Foster chosen for iconic redevelopment
(http://rbth.ru/articles/2007/12/18/pushkin_museum.html)
MikhailBode, Russia Beyond the Headlines 18 December 2007
"Driven designer constructs a global empire,"
(http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7be3dd92-2b0f-11e0-a65f-
00144feab49a.html#axzz1Ee9VrCC6) Financial Times, 30 January
2011
"Norman Foster" (Review of Norman Foster: A Life in
Architecture, by Deyan Sudjic)
(http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7aca44fc-6f65-11df-9f43-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Ee9VrCC6),
Financial Times, 5 June 2010
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title=Norman_Foster,_Baron_Foster_of_Thames_Bank&oldid=598449044"Categories:
Norman Foster buildings 1935 births Living people Stirling Prize
laureates
Alumni of the University of Manchester English architects
English designers Modernist architects
Pritzker Prize winners Chartered designers Foreign Members of
the Russian Academy of Arts
Crossbench life peers Members of the Order of Merit People from
Reddish
Knight Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic
of Germany
Recipients of the Pour le Mrite (civil class) Prince Philip
Designers Prize Norman Foster (architect)
High-tech architecture Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Royal
Gold Medal
Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Recipients
of the Praemium Imperiale
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