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Diario de Madrid · CC BY 4.0 · source

Architect

Norman Foster

Born 1935 · British · 38 buildings on the wall

Norman Foster (born 1935) is an English architect and a pioneer of high-tech architecture, known for steel-and-glass buildings whose structure shapes the design. He founded Foster Associates in 1967, now Foster + Partners, and won the Pritzker Prize in 1999.

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His early buildings, the Willis Building in Ipswich (1975) and the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich (1978), tried out open-plan floors on a clear structural grid behind glass walls. The HSBC Main Building in Hong Kong hangs its floors from steel masts and trusses, built from large modules made in Britain and shipped out. The Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt (1997) is often called the first ecological skyscraper, with sky gardens that bring daylight and fresh air into the offices. In Berlin, Foster rebuilt the Reichstag (1999) for the German parliament and topped it with a walk-in glass dome. With the engineer Michel Virlogeux he designed the Millau Viaduct (2004), and in London he built 30 St Mary Axe (2004). Foster's projects are studied for how structure, daylight and energy use can drive the form of a building.

See the 38 buildings ↓

Read about the work

Wikipedia · Norman Foster Pritzker Prize · 1999 laureate Foster + Partners · Projects Norman Foster Foundation · Foundation

ArchDaily · Foster + Partners office page

Books to read

On Foster... Foster OnDavid Jenkins (editor), 2000 Norman FosterNorman Foster: A Life in ArchitectureDeyan Sudjic, 2010 Commerzbank FrankfurtCommerzbank Frankfurt: Prototype for an Ecological High-RiseColin Davies and Ian Lambot, 1997

Rebuilding the ReichstagNorman Foster, 2000 The Great Court and the British MuseumThe Great Court and the British MuseumRobert Anderson, 2000

Similar architects

Renzo Piano · OMA · Herzog & de Meuron · Le Corbusier

Picked by the ideas their buildings share.

Norman Foster buildings 38

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Dresden Central Station, Dresden

Dresden Central Station1898 · Dresden

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts1978 · Norwich

Renault Distribution Centre, Swindon

Renault Distribution Centre1982 · Swindon

Stansted Airport Terminal, Stansted

Stansted Airport Terminal1991 · Stansted

Torre de Collserola, Barcelona

Torre de Collserola1992 · Barcelona

American Air Museum, Duxford, Duxford

American Air Museum, Duxford1997 · Duxford

SEC Armadillo, Glasgow

SEC Armadillo1997 · Glasgow

Canary Wharf Underground Station, London

Canary Wharf Underground Station1999 · London

City Hall, London, London

City Hall, London2002 · London

30 St Mary Axe, London

30 St Mary Axe2004 · London

Millau Viaduct, Millau

Millau Viaduct2004 · Millau

Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Seri Iskandar

Universiti Teknologi Petronas2004 · Seri Iskandar

Supreme Court of Singapore, Singapore

Supreme Court of Singapore2005 · Singapore

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, Astana

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation2006 · Astana

Wembley Stadium, London

Wembley Stadium2007 · London

Torre Cepsa, Madrid

Torre Cepsa2008 · Madrid

The Bow, Calgary

The Bow2012 · Calgary

Bloomberg London, London

Bloomberg London2017 · London

Lusail Stadium, Lusail

Lusail Stadium2021 · Lusail

Willis Building, Ipswich

Willis Building1975 · Ipswich

HSBC Main Building, Hong Kong

HSBC Main Building1986 · Hong Kong

Carré d'Art, Nîmes

Carré d'Art1993 · Nîmes

Bilbao Metro entrances ("Fosteritos"), Bilbao

Bilbao Metro entrances ("Fosteritos")1995 · Bilbao

Commerzbank Tower, Frankfurt

Commerzbank Tower1997 · Frankfurt

Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 1, Hong Kong

Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 11998 · Hong Kong

Reichstag, Berlin

Reichstag1999 · Berlin

Al Faisaliah Tower, Riyadh

Al Faisaliah Tower2000 · Riyadh

McLaren Technology Centre, Woking

McLaren Technology Centre2004 · Woking

The Glasshouse, Gateshead

The Glasshouse2004 · Gateshead

Deutsche Bank Place, Sydney

Deutsche Bank Place2005 · Sydney

Kogod Courtyard, National Portrait Gallery, Washington

Kogod Courtyard, National Portrait Gallery2007 · Washington

Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3, Beijing

Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 32008 · Beijing

Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center, Astana

Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center2010 · Astana

The Index, Dubai

The Index2010 · Dubai

Queen Alia International Airport, Amman

Queen Alia International Airport2013 · Amman

Apple Park, Cupertino

Apple Park2017 · Cupertino

House of Wisdom, Sharjah

House of Wisdom2020 · Sharjah

Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi

Zayed National Museum2025 · Abu Dhabi