Architecture + Design

Architect Profiles: Norman Foster

Innovative and indefatigable, the architect looks to the future

By Joseph Giovannini

September 30, 2007

Photography by Nigel Young/Courtesy Foster and Partners, Richard Bryant/Arcaid and Jean-Philippe Arles/Reuters/Corbis
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The prolific English architect Norman Foster uses technology with grace and daring, creating visionary designs such as a layered residence in Kamakura, Japan (see Architectural Digest, March 2007).
Photography by Nigel Young/Courtesy Foster and Partners, Richard Bryant/Arcaid and Jean-Philippe Arles/Reuters/Corbis
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The dynamic glass-and-steel ceiling for the British Museum's Great Court.

Photography by Nigel Young/Courtesy Foster and Partners, Richard Bryant/Arcaid and Jean-Philippe Arles/Reuters/Corbis
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To expose the living room of a Mediterranean villa to the elements, Foster created an 18-ton retractable glass wall (AD, October 2006).
Photography by Nigel Young/Courtesy Foster and Partners, Richard Bryant/Arcaid and Jean-Philippe Arles/Reuters/Corbis
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The Chesa Futura apartment building in St. Moritz, Switzerland, has a curved, shingled façade.

Photography by Nigel Young/Courtesy Foster and Partners, Richard Bryant/Arcaid and Jean-Philippe Arles/Reuters/Corbis
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His majestic Millau Viaduct—the tallest bridge in the world—spans a valley in southern France.
Photography by Nigel Young/Courtesy Foster and Partners, Richard Bryant/Arcaid and Jean-Philippe Arles/Reuters/Corbis
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Foster's distinctive high-rises include the 118-story Russia Tower in Moscow. The mixed-use building, a pioneer of green architecture, is slated for completion in 2011.

Photography by Nigel Young/Courtesy Foster and Partners, Richard Bryant/Arcaid and Jean-Philippe Arles/Reuters/Corbis
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Norman Foster

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