Sir Norman Foster (1935 – Present)
High Tech Architect – Manchester, England
Born in a working class family, Norman Foster did not seem likely to become a famous architect. Although he was a good student in high school and showed an early interest in architecture, he did not enroll in college until he was 21 years old. Foster won numerous scholarships during his years at Manchester University, including one to attend Yale University in the United States.
At the beginning of his career, Foster worked as a member of the successful “Team 4” firm with his wife, Wendy Foster, and the husband and wife team of Richard Rogers and Sue Rogers. His own firm, Foster Associates, was founded in London in 1967.
Foster Associates became known for “High Tech” design that explored technological shapes and ideas. In his work, Sir Norman Foster often uses off-site manufactured parts and the repetition of modular elements. The firm frequently designs special components for these high-tech modernist buildings.
Distinguished work:
1977: Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, UK
1979-86: Hong kong and Shanghai Bank, Hong Kong
1987-1991: Century Tower Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
1987-1997: American Air Museum, Duxford, UK
1992-99: New German Parliament, Berlin, Germany
2008: Terminal T3, Beijing, China
Awards and Honors:
1999: Pritzker Architecture Prize
1997: Appointed by the Queen to the Order of Merit
1990: Knighthood from the Queen of England
1983: RIBA Royal Gold Medal
