Norman Foster: Reflections

by Norman Foster

In this deluxe edition featuring stunning photography, one of the world’s most important architects reflects on the practice of architecture, its place in the world, and its spiritual value. Architecture is not a luxury, insists Norman Foster, but a necessity generated by people’s social, spiritual, and material needs. In a series of essays Foster looks back on four decades of work in which he has provided humanity with places to hope and dream, find solace in a crowded world, and establish order amidst chaos. Thematically arranged in a series of visual chapters, these reflections are woven through elements of Foster’s remarkable career. Duotone photographs of his buildings, including the Reichstag in Berlin, the Carre d’Art in Nimes, the Expo Station in Singapore, the British Museum’s Great Court, and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters are scattered throughout this magnificently printed and bound volume, making it an exquisite collectors item, as well as a valuable reference for anyone interested in the state of architecture today.

Genres: Architecture

Hardcover

First published November 1, 2005

About the author

Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, is a British architect and designer. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. His architectural practice Foster + Partners, first founded in 1967 as Foster Associates, is the largest in the United Kingdom, and maintains offices internationally. He is the president of the Norman Foster Foundation, created to 'promote interdisciplinary thinking and research to help new generations of architects, designers and urbanists to anticipate the future'. The foundation, which opened in June 2017, is based in Madrid and operates globally. Foster was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1999.

Reviews

[Lorenzo Diaz campos · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Creo apasionadamente que la arquitectura es una arte social – una necesidad y no un lujo – que se ocupa de la calidad de vida y la creación de beneficios”
Me atreví a dejar el título de esta reseña justo como se titula el libro porque me parece acertadísimo. Este volumen es una colección de imágenes en blanco y negro de gran formato. La elección de cada una de las imágenes corrió a cargo del prestigiado arquitecto, quien seleccionó imágenes de proyectos icónicos construidos a lo largo de 40 años de carrera.
Dividido en cuatro secciones —donde se incluye una pequeña nota personal Foster— se aproxima a temas como la tecnología, la función y la historia. El libro en realidad transmite toda su fuerza con el uso exclusivo de imágenes, un cliché que en las publicaciones de arquitectura ha causado mucho daño, es precisamente por eso que esta recopilación personal de fotografías me parece notable.
Norman Foster cuenta con el Premio Mies van de Rohe 1990, la Medalla de oro del AIA 1994, el Premio Pitzker 1999, el Preamium Imperiale 2002, el Premio Príncipe de Asturias 2009 y con oficinas en 5 países y más de 500 colaboradores. Ver a través de su ojo con esta selección de imágenes seguramente es un privilegio.