13.NOTES Norman Foster

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
09AT5DCCOA
CONTENT COMPILED BY
AR. SAHANA. S
(ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, B.M.S.C.A.)
NORMAN FOSTER - LIFE AND WORKS; HSBC BANK, HONG KONG
•His designs have many bold shapes and people are fascinated by the dynamism of his buildings.
•Norman used natural light as an interacting medium b/w man and nature.
•Foster Associates is famously known for "High -Tech Architecture” that explores technological shapes and ideas. He often uses off-
site manufactured parts and the repetition of modular elements.
•The HSBC bank building is the headquarters

for The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation Limited in Central Hong Kong.
•The previous HSBC building was built in
1935 and pulled down to make way for the
current bank building.
•PLANNING:
•The building is 180-metres high with 47
floors and four basement levels.
•The main characteristic is its absence of
internal supporting structure.
•Foster's solution for the requirement to
build one million square feet in short time
span was to design a building whose
construction would rely on an exceptionally
high degree of off-site prefabrication.
•The need to build downwards and upwards
simultaneously led to the adoption of a
suspension structure, with pairs of steel
flagpoles arranged in bays.
•As a result, the building form is articulated in
a stepped profile of 3 individual towers,
respectively 36, 44 and 29, floors high, which
create floors of varying width and depth and
allow for garden terraces.
NORMAN FOSTER - HSBC BANK, HONG KONG
Planning:
•The most noticeable feature of the building are the eight groups of 4 aluminum-clad steel columns, which rise from the
foundations up through the main structure, and the five levels of triangular suspension trusses which are locked into these
flagpoles.
•Use of bridge engineering techniques: Eight large tubular steel columns on two sides of the building, braced by rectangular
beams, act as bridge supports, with the ﬂoors suspended from them.
•The 5 groups of suspended floor levels from triangular suspension trusses are seen clearly on the outside of the building.
•The inverted ‘V’ sections of the suspension trusses span the structure at double-height levels giving the building much of its
distinctive character.
Planning - Entrance and Atrium:

•At ground level, beneath the building, an open public area has been created without any loss of office
space. On entering this plaza the most prominent feature is the spectacular atrium rising 170 feet through
11 levels of the building.
•The public banking areas are situated around the atrium and are reached from the plaza by the longest
freely supported escalators. Open-plan offices surround the atrium, allowing staff to work under natural
light, while noise levels are controlled by means of careful acoustic engineering.
•Planning - Distinguished Feature:
•A distinguished feature is that natural sunlight is the major source of lighting inside the building.
•At the top of the atrium is a row of giant mirrors. These form part of an innovative, computer-controlled
sun-scoop that reflects natural sunlight into the atrium and down to the plaza helping to conserve energy.
All internal walls are made up of movable partitions so that office layouts can be changed and modified as
required, without the need for any structural alterations.
Materials Used - For off-site prefabrication:
• The structural steel came from Britain
• The glass & aluminum cladding and flooring from the USA
• The service modules from Japan.
All these have been assembled together with a high degree of precision.
The emphasis on flexibility:
All flooring is constructed from lightweight movable panels made from the same material as that used for
aircraft floors. The panels covered with carpet tiles have a comprehensive network of power, data, and
telecommunication and air-conditioning systems beneath them.
NORMAN FOSTER - RENAULT DISTRIBUTION CENTRE, SWINDON, U.K.
Location:
The Centre was
commissioned as the
French car manufacturer’s
main UK distribution
facility. In addition to
warehousing, it includes a
showroom, training school,
workshops, offices and a
staff restaurant.
Planning:
Covered spaces were used
for spare parts
warehousing, visitor
reception, distribution and
regional offices, vehicle
showroom, after-sales
maintenance training, and
staff dining.
Planning:
It has brilliant yellow (Renault’s corporate color); cable-stayed tubular steel masts, that supports a reinforced polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) membrane roof.
Prefabricated rectangular building was formed as a series of suspended modules—42 in total—comprising 16m high masts,
connected to pin-jointed portal frames.
Each module measured 24m x 24m developed so as to maximize the planning flexibility of the internal spaces and is 7.5M
high at the edge and 9.5M in the center - Allowing the Centre to accommodate a range of uses from industrial warehouse
racking to its subdivision into office floors.
As extensions were required, modules

could be unbolted and new ones added.
Initially, 36 modules were devoted to
warehousing, the rest located at the
narrower end of the site where the
building tapered to a generous entry and
Porte cochere.
Planning: Distinguished feature:

Ample natural lighting was achieved by clear glass panels inserted where the mast pierced the roof and by a louvered roof
light at the apex of each module; the louvers could be opened for ventilation.
Primarily a showroom - as signified by suspended car body shells - the gallery was used by Renault as a popular venue for arts
and social events, encouraging wider community involvement in the building.
Materials used:
Ample natural lighting was achieved by clear glass panels.
The innovative 288m long building which houses offices, a restaurant, showroom and training center as well as warehouse
space is supported by 360 Macalloy tendons with fork connectors at either end.

13.NOTES Norman Foster

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13.NOTES Norman Foster

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CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE

•The HSBC bank building is the headquarters

Planning - Entrance and Atrium:

As extensions were required, modules

Planning: Distinguished feature:

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