Sir Norman Foster is, without doubt, one of the most innovative - without becoming radical - and important architects in the contemporary construction panorama. Born in Manchester in 1935, he crossed the Atlantic at the beginning of the sixties with his diploma in Architecture and Town Planning to obtain a Master at Yale University.
A first stage as a consultant in town development projects brought about, in 1963, the establishment of Team 4. A brief four-year period ended with the dissolution of the group and the opening of his own office, Norman Foster Associates.
From that moment he began to develop his personal guidelines to their fullest extent, half way between aesthetic and functional architecture, technology engineering and quality designs. This can be seen in buildings such as the Willis Faber and Dumas in Ipswich, the Hammersmith Centre in London, the Sainsbury Centre of Visual Art in Norwich, the Centre for Renault in Swindon or the Centre for Contemporary Art at Nimes.
At a later date, from the eighties onwards, is when he builds his most
definitive works: Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank, Stanstead Airport (London)
or the Communications Tower for Barcelona 92.
The Bilbao Metro and one of his most ambitious current projects, the new
Hong-Kong airport, will continue to increase the legend of this minimalist
and high-tech gentleman.
