Final Tribute - Norman Foster, 90 years old

To mark the 90th birthday of living architectural legend Norman Foster, Museum TV invites you to discover or rediscover the career of this iconic contemporary architect.

The beginnings of the architect

Norman Foster is a renowned architect born on June 1, 1935, in Manchester, United Kingdom. He was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1999 thanks to his innovative, sustainable approach, and social conscience. At 16, Norman Foster began his military service and then landed a job at an architectural firm, Beardstow. The enthusiasm of his colleagues for the quality of his architectural drawings led him to begin studies in architecture and urban planning. In 1961, he graduated from the University of Manchester and also received a Henry Fellowship, which allowed him to attend Yale University in the United States. He earned his Master of Architecture in 1962 and, some time later, founded the firm Team 4 (1963-1967) with his classmate Richard Rogers, along with their two wives, the Cheesman sisters. After that, the two friends went their separate ways. Foster founded Foster + Partners, formerly known as Foster Associates. Rogers created the Piano + Rogers agency with Renzo Piano and then the Richard Rogers Partnership. Norman Foster, along with Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, pioneered the High Tech movement in architecture with the Centre Pompidou in Paris. 

High Tech Architecture 

This movement is part of a post-war dynamic, much like Brutalism, with Le Corbusier, for example.

The High Tech movement is characterized by the glorification of technical elements and architectural structures. Glass and metal components are used, allowing for the construction of tall buildings. The use of prefabricated materials is also common.

The objectives of this movement are to ensure a functional space by combining cutting-edge technologies. Resolving the constraints of the industrial environment without neglecting public comfort.

The term High Tech was popularized in a book written by Joan Kron and Suzanne Slesin: High Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book for the Home. 

Foster pays great attention in his projects to people and the quality of his work, for example, but also to ecological notions and the preservation of historic monuments.

Foster and Ecology 

Norman Foster's approach aims to create sustainable and ecologically viable elements. To achieve this, he uses innovative technical processes.

• 30 St Mary Axe 
  
  Between 1997 and 2004, Norman Foster and his partners built the Swiss Re headquarters at 30 St Mary Axe in the heart of London. The structure is nicknamed "the gherkin." This gherkin is not just for aesthetic reasons; it is, in fact, an aerodynamic shape. This building stands 180 meters tall. It is surprising to note that the maximum circumference of the building is only 2 meters less than its height. This tower has 41 floors divided into several spaces; the atrium and office areas are spread across 47,950 m². The spiral shape of the building and the double glass wall with steel frames allow for natural ventilation and optimization of natural light. 

• Steve Jobs' Apple Park 
  
  Apple Park is located in Silicon Valley in Cupertino, California. It is Apple's headquarters. This project is of gargantuan scale with a budget of over $5 billion. It covers 260,000 square meters on a 70-hectare site. This space consists of nine open spaces, a fitness center of approximately 10,000 square meters, an auditorium built in tribute to Steve Jobs, and an 11,000-space parking lot to accommodate the 12,000 employees. A café and an Apple product sales area are open to the public. In the park, 9,000 trees have been planted, a pond has been dug, and meadows provide an enchanting space for employees, who have access to a jogging path in the great outdoors, for example. The building is powered by renewable energy and is covered with solar panels. The structure only requires heating and air conditioning three months a year. 

Public Well-being 

• Maggie's Centre, Manchester 
  
    
  
  In this project, Norman Foster swaps steel for wood. Aimed at people affected by cancer, Lors Foster is particularly moved by this theme. Here, he is designing a single-story community care and support residence. The only elevated area is a central mezzanine. Natural light penetrates throughout the building thanks to the numerous windows and bay windows overlooking the sunny garden. The project houses a library, a gym, social spaces where residents can gather, and a kitchen with a large communal table. This table, like other furniture featured here, was designed by Norman Foster and Mike Holland to best suit the space. The space is organized in a cozy atmosphere, made of natural wood and textured fabrics. 

• British Museum, Great Court, London 
  
  The British Museum is reinventing itself and revitalizing the long-lost garden. A courtyard covered by a glass roof offers the public a space for wandering. At its center, the Reading Room has been preserved, forming a self-contained cylinder. This space houses a café, a bookstore, and information points. It provides access to all the surrounding galleries, a temporary exhibition gallery, and a restaurant terrace. This program, with its bespoke geometry, adapts to the irregularities between the courtyard facades and the drum of the Reading Room. Moreover, the design of this creation blends in with the original building without overshadowing it. 

From Award to Award 

Norman Foster's career is admired by many architects. He currently holds over 300 awards and distinctions. In addition to the Prizker Prize, the architect has received several gold medals: the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1983, the French Academy of Architecture in 1991, and the American Institute of Architects in 1994.

He was also knighted in 1990 by Queen Elizabeth II and received the Order of Merit in 1997 for the influence his work has brought to the United Kingdom. In 1999, he was awarded the title of Baron.

Lord Foster has been deeply involved in the architectural community, serving as Vice President of the Architectural Association of London, a member of the RIBA, the Architecture Foundation of London, and the Royal College of Art.

A Living Legend 

His research into intelligent and elegant sustainable architecture, as well as the use of steel and glass, influenced subsequent generations. Among them were Thomas Heatherwick and his Seed Cathedral and Olafur Eliasson and his work Your Rainbow Panorama. 

Norman Foster positions himself as a successor to the industrial era. Perhaps he was inspired by 19th-century industrial buildings like the train stations that Zola described as "cathedrals of glass and steel."

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