Norman Foster
Norman Foster
Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank of Reddish, OM, HonFREngis a British architect whose company, Foster + Partners, maintains an international design practice famous for high-tech architecture...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth13 December 1903
Norman Foster quotes about
mobility citing building
You cannot separate the buildings out from the infrastructure of cites and the mobility of transit.
advance determined environmental fortune good holistic owner principles product project succeeded ultimately york
The project ultimately succeeded because we had the good fortune of working with a progressive owner that was determined to advance these principles in New York City. Environmental sustainability is a product of that holistic way of thinking.
livable town
The Italians have long known what makes a livable town or city.
allowed believe couple hilarious medieval people smashing streets tons
We now think it hilarious that medieval streets were used as open sewers. Equally, our descendants will say: 'You won't believe this, but people were once allowed to hurl a couple of tons of dangerous metal around smashing into each other.'
detached dream driveway future house lawn people perhaps possible prefer presume simply understand
Surveys often show people would prefer a detached house with a lawn and driveway to an apartment. I understand this. It's not my place to presume to tell people where they can live. But perhaps that dream will simply not be possible in the future.
honourable knew level moved parents ran robert security work
The only honourable work my parents knew was blue-collar. But while my father Robert ran a pawnbroker's shop, and my mother was a waitress, I moved into a middle-class world with a level of security they never knew.
earned far jobs money pay quite salesman time took tuition university variety whatever
In Britain, the idea one could go from blue-collar beginnings to the university was so far out, it was quite unthinkable. I took a variety of jobs to pay for tuition - from ice-cream salesman to night-club bouncer. Whatever earned the most money in the least time.
amazing climbed close combined lesson lightness precision strength time
The most amazing lesson in aerodynamics I ever had was the day I climbed a thermal in a glider at the same time as an eagle. I witnessed, close up, effortlessness and lightness combined with strength, precision and determination.
design endless tip
I describe the design process as like the tip of the iceberg. What you don't see is the long haul: all the endless auditing and things like that.
nowhere travel
I travel continuously, and I see many cities, but there is nowhere like London.
climate design particular specific
Everything we design is a response to the specific climate and culture of a particular place.
car cars coin enemy history public side style
I think cars encapsulate the history of innovation and style - it's the other side of the coin of the car being public enemy No.1.
anticipate created future joseph needs originally qualities sewer system time
Joseph Bazalgette created a sewer system which he originally sized for London's needs of the time - he then doubled it to anticipate the future beyond. These are the qualities that I admire.
absolutely across anonymous fantastic happened hunting jacket leather
You can find, occasionally, some absolutely fantastic things in hunting shops. I've got one jacket that I just happened across which is a kind of unwashed leather - completely anonymous but absolutely special.