Talks Norman Foster: Building on the green agenda

I wanted to share this amazing lecture by Sir Norman Forster with you:



Foster was born in the Reddish area of Stockport, England,[2] to a working-class family. He was naturally gifted and performed well at school and took an interest in architecture, particularly in the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier.

Leaving school at 16, he worked in the Manchester City Treasurer's office before joining National Service in the Royal Air Force. After he was discharged, in 1956 Foster attended the University of Manchester's School of Architecture and City Planning (graduating in 1961). Later, he won the Henry Fellowship to the Yale School of Architecture, where he met former business partner Richard Rogers and earned his Master's degree. He then travelled in America for a year, returning to the UK in 1962 where he set up an architectural practice as Team 4 with Rogers and their respective girlfriends, the sisters Georgie and Wendy Cheesman. Georgie (later Wolton) was the only one of the team that had passed her RIBA exams allowing them to set up in practice on their own. Team 4 quickly earned a reputation for high-tech industrial design.

Foster has established an extremely prolific career in the span of four decades. The following are some of his major constructions:

Proposed or under construction

Torre Caja Madrid under construction (September 2008).
APIIC Tower,Hyderabad, India (2007-2010)
Torre Caja Madrid, Madrid, Spain (2004-2008)
Black Sea Gardens, Byala, Bulgaria (2008)
Tower, Cork, Republic of Ireland, (2008-2011)
Culture and Leisure Centre, Ciudad del Motor de Aragón[1], Alcañiz, Spain (2007) (competition won)
Tivoli Hotel, Copenhagen, Denmark (2010) (competition won)
Museum of Aviation, Getafe, Spain (currently in design phase)
200 Greenwich Street, Tower 2 of the planned reconstruction of the World Trade Center in New York City, United States (currently in design phase)
Reconstruction of New Holland Island, Saint Petersburg, Russia (ongoing)
Russia Tower, Moscow, Russia (2007 – 2011)
U2 Tower, Dublin, Ireland (2008-2011) (competition won)
Spinningfield Square, Manchester, England (2005 – 2010)
Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, Dallas, United States (2009)
The Bow, Calgary, Canada (2009)
The Troika, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2004 – 2009)
Queen's Dock, Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow, Scotland (2004 – 2007)
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Middlesex Guildhall, London, United Kingdom (2009)
Khan Shatyry in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Masdar City, Abu Dhabi (announced 2007)
New Yale School of Management campus, New Haven, CT (announced September 4, 2007)
Camp Nou stadium, Barcelona, Spain (announced September 18, 2007)
Crystal Island, Moscow, Russia

Completed

• Reichstag dome at night
• Dresden Hauptbahnhof roof and cupola
  
• Metropolitan Building in Warsaw
  
• New Elephant House, Copenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, Denmark (2007–2008)
  
• International Terminal, Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing, China (2007)
  
• John Spoor Broome Library, Cal State Channel Islands. (2006–2008)
  
• Kogod Courtyard, Center for American Art and Portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC (2004–2007)[15]
  
• Lumiere residences, Sydney, Australia (2007–2008)
  
• Thomas Deacon Academy (2005–2007)

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