Recommendations of the Editorial team
Do you know who built the Berlin television tower or the “little Eiffel Tower”, the radio tower in the west of Berlin? No? That doesn’t matter. But everyone knows the builder of the Reichstag dome: Norman Foster. The most important political building in the republic – perhaps more closely associated with an architect than with the Chancellor who rules within it. Already weird.
The Brit, born in 1935, is one of the most important living architects. Two publications now shed light on his work from different perspectives: “Norman Foster. Networks” collects the architect’s reflections in his own voice, while “Norman Foster. Works” offers an overview of his work.
Two perspectives on one work
The volume “Networks,” which Foster himself was responsible for, is a collection of autobiographical essays. Foster reconstructs stages of his socialization, refers to his origins in Manchester and highlights his early interests, in particular his ongoing preoccupation with aviation. Projects like Stansted Airport and Hong Kong International Airport were his dream come true.
Foster is always convincing when he describes architecture not as an isolated discipline, but as a network of relationships between natural observations and engineering knowledge. For example, when he compares the ventilation systems of buildings with natural air currents or describes support structures in analogy to biological forms, such as treetops or skeletal structures. Projects like the Reichstag dome or the Sainsbury Center are placed in contexts of “natural” order.
He shows a certain tendency to exaggerate where such observations are generalized: for example, when a moral attitude is derived from the optimization of materials and energy use, or when technical solutions appear to be an expression of universal principles that go beyond the specific project. For him, a light steel structure is not just seen as good engineering, but as part of a larger principle – harmony with the environment.
In contrast, “Norman Foster: Works” follows a more documentary approach. The volume, written together with Philip Jodidio, traces the development of Foster’s work over several decades and places key projects in their respective contexts. This includes project portraits such as the Millennium Bridge or Apple Park.
Meanwhile, the 91-year-old is moving on, on a large and small scale: Foster + Partners’ current projects include the planned new stadium for AC Milan in San Donato and the development of sustainable prefabricated houses (“Essential Homes”)
