Norman Foster

Norman Foster is a British architect of international renown.He was born on the first of June 1935 in Manchester, United Kingdom. From 1956 until 1961 he will study Architecture in the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. This year he will win the scholarship Henry Fellowship for a course of specialization in the Faculty of Architecture of Yale, EE.UU. The following year he comes back to England and he starts working with Richard Rogers. There he will meet Wendy and Georgie Cheesman, architects.They four found later in 1963 the studio called “Team 4”. In 1967 his wife, Wendy and he, create “Foster Associates”. One year later Foster meets Buckminster Fuller with whom he will work until last one’s death in 1983. 1989 was a terrible year for Norman Foster. His wife Wendy Chessman dies. In 1990 he will be awarded with the title of Sir at Queen’s birthday celebration. The two following years will be very important as he is recognized as Doctor Honoris Causa by the Royal College of Art of London, United Kingdom and by the Technical University of Valencia, Spain. In 1996 he marries the Spanish psychologist Elena Ochoa. In 1999 Sir Norman Foster is appointed Lord. This year will also be very important for him because he receives the Pritzker prize. He owns the Príncipe the Asturias of the Arts prize of the year 2010, in recognition of his entire career.

Norman Foster is a prestigious architect who has constructions all over the world. His style is very characteristic and he is considered the greatest exponent of the "high-tech" Foster’s and his partner’s projects have a clearly industrial stamp, in the sense that they use elements repeated in all their constructions. His projects are present in the five continents and some of his major constructions are: a) the reconstruction of the Zero Zone and The World Trade Center in New York, USA, b) the Gherkin building in London, United Kingdom, which is one of the emblems of the city, c) the Parliament of Berlin, Germany, d)The Banyan Tree Corniche Bay, a spectacular hotel in Mauritania, e) the building of the Deutsche Bank Place of Sydney, and f) the headquarter of the Hong Kong and Shangai Bank in Hong Kong, China.

Sources:

El mundo,Newspaper.May 21,2009. http://www.elmundo.es/especiales/2009/05/cultura/norman_foster/album/index.html

Sinjic,Deyan.Norman Foster -a life in architecture,London, Weidenfield and Nicolson,2010.