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Norman Foster retrospective exhibition opens at Centre Pompidou in Paris
CategoriesInterior Design

Norman Foster retrospective exhibition opens at Centre Pompidou in Paris

By Zarkon Group,

An exhibition dedicated to the work of British architect Norman Foster has opened at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, showcasing drawings and original models produced by the architect over the last six decades.

The exhibition, which according to the Norman Foster Foundation is the largest-ever retrospective display of Foster’s work, features around 130 of the architect’s projects including the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Headquarters, Hong Kong International Airport and Apple Park.

Norman Foster looking through a circular hole in a large sculptural structure at his exhibition in the Centre Pompidou
The exhibition was designed by Norman Foster

Designs that informed Foster’s work are also exhibited, including works by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, French painter Fernand Léger, Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi and Italian painter Umberto Boccioni, and even cars, which the architect is passionate about.

The exhibition, simply called Norman Foster, was designed by Foster with his architecture studio Foster + Partners and nonprofit organisation the Norman Foster Foundation.

Model of a yellow structure by Norman Foster at the Centre Pompidou
On display are sketches, drawings and models of the architect’s buildings

Curated by Centre Pompidou deputy director Frédéric Migayrou, the exhibition aims to showcase examples of Foster’s innovation and technology, his approach to sustainability and his ideas for the future of the built environment.

“This exhibition traces the themes of sustainability and anticipating the future,” said Foster.

“Throughout the decades we have sought to challenge conventions, reinvent building types and demonstrate an architecture of light and lightness, inspired by nature, which can be about joy as well as being eco-friendly.”

Architecture and cars models at the Norman Foster exhibition at the Centre Pompidou
Examples of Foster’s work are interspersed with cars that have inspired him

The 2,200-square-metre exhibition begins with a room dedicated to Foster’s sketches and drawings, a practice he uses to communicate ideas and log design inspiration.

“For me, design starts with a sketch, continuing as a tool of communication through the long process that follows in the studio, factories and finally onto the building site,” said Foster.

“In 1975 I started the habit of carrying an A4 notebook for sketching and writing – a selection of these are displayed in the central cabinets, surrounded by walls devoted to personal drawings.”

Architectural drawings in the Centre Pompidou in Paris
Visitors begin the exhibition in a room filled with Foster’s sketches

The exhibition continues in a large space with partition walls that separates it into seven themes: Nature and Urbanity, Skin and Bones, Vertical City, History and Tradition, Planning and Place, Networks and Mobilities, and Future Perspectives.

The Nature and Urbanity section explores Foster’s approach to preserving nature by building “dense urban clusters, with privacy ensured by design,” the studio said.

Referencing a critic’s comment that the external appearance of Foster’s projects could be categorised as having a smooth “skin” facade or expressing its skeletal structure, the Skin and Bones portion of the exhibition showcases projects that illustrate the relationship between structure, services and cladding.

In the Vertical City section, the studio showcases how it created “breathing” towers by designing open, stacked spaces.

Architectural models and drawings in the Centre Pompidou in Paris
The exhibition features around 130 Norman Foster projects

“We were the first to question the traditional tower, with its central core of mechanical plant, circulation and structure, and instead to create open, stacked spaces, flexible for change and with see-through views,” said Foster.

“Here, the ancillary services were grouped alongside the working or living spaces, which led to a further evolution with the first ever series of ‘breathing’ towers.”

Architectural models and drawings at the Norman Foster exhibition in the Centre Pompidou in Paris
It showcases projects spanning Foster’s six-decade-long career

“In the quest to reduce energy consumption and create a healthier and more desirable lifestyle, we showed that a system of natural ventilation, moving large volumes of fresh filtered air, could be part of a controlled internal climate,” the architect continued.

The History and Tradition section aims to provide insight into examples of historic and vernacular architecture that influenced Foster, while the Planning and Places portion explores masterplanning and placemaking in urban spaces.

Architectural models and drawings in the Centre Pompidou in Paris
The exhibition is on display at the Centre Pompidou in Paris

Towards the open exhibition space’s exit, the Networks and Mobility section displays examples of transport and infrastructure and leads to the final room, Future Perspectives, which exhibits concepts for future methods of travel and communication.

On display are details of autonomous self-driving systems and designs for habitats on Mars and the moon that were developed with NASA and the European Space Agency.

Foster recently spoke with Dezeen about his views on sustainability in architecture, in which he said “there are lots of dangerous myths”.

The photography is by Nigel Young from Foster + Partners.

The Norman Foster exhibition is on display at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France, from 10 May to 7 August 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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centre pompidou to host largest norman foster retrospective
CategoriesArchitecture

centre pompidou to host largest norman foster retrospective

By Zarkon Group,

the ‘norman foster’ retrospective will span six decades

 

The largest retrospective spanning the entire oeuvre of Norman Foster’s work over the last six decades will open at the Centre Pompidou in Paris this coming May. Covering nearly 2,200 sqm, the exhibition reviews the different periods of the architect’s work, highlighting seminal projects, such as the headquarters of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (Hong Kong, 1979-1986), the Carré d’Art (Nîmes, 1984-1993), Hong Kong International Airport (1992-1998) and Apple Park (Cupertino, United States, 2009-2017). Running from May 10 to August 7, 2023, the retrospective is being designed by Norman Foster and executed in collaboration with Foster + Partners and the Norman Foster Foundation.

centre pompidou to host the largest retrospective of norman foster's work
Marseille Vieux Port | image © Edmund Sumner

 

 

exploring the architect’s work through seven themes 

 

The Norman Foster retrospective at Centre Pompidou explores the architect’s work through the prism of seven themes: Nature and Urbanity; Skin and Bones; Vertical City; History and Tradition; Planning and Place; Networks and Mobility and Future. ‘This exhibition traces the themes of sustainability and anticipating the future,’ shares Foster.

 

‘The birth of the practice in the 1960’s coincided with the first signs of an awareness of the fragility of the planet. These were the green shoots of what would later be named The Green Movement. These principles may now be mainstream, but more than half a century ago, they were revolutionary and anticipated the reality of today. Throughout the decades, we have sought to challenge conventions, reinvent building types and demonstrate an architecture of light and lightness, inspired by nature, which can be about joy as well as being eco-friendly.‘

centre pompidou to host the largest retrospective of norman foster's work
Millau Viaduct | image © Daniel Jamme/Eiffage

 

 

a unique display of 130 major projects 

 

Drawings, sketches, original scale models, dioramas, and many videos will enable visitors to delve into 130 significant projects. Indeed, welcoming visitors at the entrance to the Norman Foster retrospective, a drawing gallery showcases items never seen before in France, consisting of drawings, sketchbooks, sketches, and photographs taken by the architect. Illustrating a resonance with Foster’s architecture, the display includes works by Fernand Léger, Constantin Brancusi, Umberto Boccioni, and Ai Weiwei, along with industrial creations, such as a glider and several classic automobiles, which have often served as sources of inspiration.

 

Lastly, a 264-page catalog accompanies the exhibition, depicting eighty of the architect’s most significant projects. This monograph features three portfolios showcasing Foster’s early sources of inspiration, projects conducted in collaboration with Richard Buckminster Fuller, and other drawings and sketches. This collective volume is published by Editions du Centre Pompidou under the direction of Frédéric Migayrou, curator of the retrospective.

centre pompidou to host the largest retrospective of norman foster's work
Newport School | © The Norman Foster Foundation

centre pompidou to host the largest retrospective of norman foster's work
Carré d’Art, Nîmes | image © James Morris



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Norman Foster creates angular Foster Retreat in Martha’s Vineyard
CategoriesInterior Design

Norman Foster creates angular Foster Retreat in Martha’s Vineyard

By Zarkon Group,

Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Norman Foster has designed the Foster Retreat in Martha’s Vineyard as a holiday home for his friends and those of the Norman Foster Foundation, which features furniture designed by the architect for Karimoku.

Named the Foster Retreat, the mono-pitch roofed building in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, was built opposite Foster’s US home.

Wooden interior of Foster Retreat
The building draws on traditional wood structures

The home was formed from a series of angled steel beams that are connected by timber beams with smooth timber louvres enclosing an outdoor patio space.

According to Foster, the holiday home’s shape was informed by North American barn structures, with large amounts of timber chosen to reference Martha’s Vineyard’s traditional wood-boarded structures and its sustainability credentials.

A wood-clad interior in Martha's Vineyard house
Pale wood was used inside Foster Retreat

“The retreat takes inspiration from the generous wooden barn structures of North America and combines that tradition of timber construction with a small amount of steel in the form of skinny portal frames which touch the ground lightly,” said Foster, who is the founder of UK studio Foster + Partners.

“Wood was the obvious choice not only for reasons of sustainability but also as a direct reference to the traditional buildings that characterise the island.”

View out onto green grass from kitchen
The building has a visible grid

The site levels around Foster Retreat, which will be used as a private residence for friends of Foster’s family and of the Norman Foster Foundation, were contoured to hide the building from the roadside and situate it within the landscape.

The studio also added indigenous plants to the site, as well as a bank of solar panels that together with “a high level of insulation and shading” helps the building be more sustainable, according to Foster.

Wooden furniture with white seats
Norman Foster designed the NF Collection for Karimoku

Inside the building, the holiday home has white walls with pale wood panels and wooden floors.

To match the pared-back material palette of the house’s exterior and interior, Foster designed a wooden furniture collection named NF Collection together with Japanese furniture brand Karimoku.

The collection comprises a dining chair, two stools, a lounge chair, a sofa, and a dining table, all of which feature pale “skeletal” timber frames and padded upholstery.

“The wood-based furniture I designed for Karimoku is an extension of the philosophy behind the building,” Foster explained.

“lt has always seemed to me that there is a commonality between the American Shaker Movement and traditional Japanese furniture. Given my own admiration for the qualities of historic Japanese architecture, there are evident cultural links.”

White dining table with wooden chairs
The furniture has skeletal frames and white padding. Photo is by Chuck Choi

The collection was developed as Foster had trouble finding suitable furniture for the space.

“When we started to think about what type of furniture could best fit in the spaces created in the Foster Retreat, Martha’s Vineyard, we realised that there was no single specific collection in existence that could be used for the different uses of the building, so I decided to develop a bespoke family of furniture,” Foster explained.

“Timber was a natural choice to match the spirit of the building.”

Living room with wooden furniture and white rug
Foster Retreat was designed as a private residence

Foster Retreat is Karimoku’s seventh case study project, which sees the studio work together with architects on bespoke furniture collections.

“I see the collaboration with NF as an important step for us as a brand – not only do we venture into a new area with the case at Martha’s Vineyard, but we also show how the brand can accomodate a more diverse furniture collection, showcasing the unique design languages of the individual studios, yet still maintaining a red thread throughout the collection in the use of materials, excellent craftsmanship and high quality,” Karimoku creative director Frederik Werner told Dezeen.

White sofa in front of fireplace
The collection marks Karimoku’s seventh case study. Photo is by Chuck Choi

The NF Collection will also be shown in an exhibition at Karimoku Commons in Tokyo, the brand’s retail and showroom space. Karimoku was one of a number of Japanese brands that showed at this year’s Salone del Mobile furniture fair as the focus on the European market grows.

One of the world’s best-known architects, Foster leads the UK’s largest studio Foster + Partners. The studio’s recent projects include 425 Park Avenue, which is the “first full-block office building” to be built on Park Avenue in over 50 years, and the tallest building in the EU, the Varso Tower in Warsaw.

The photography is by Marc Fairstein unless stated otherwise. All photography courtesy of the Norman Foster Foundation.

The Norman Foster x Karimoku exhibition is at Karimoku Commons from 21 October to 9 December. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Reference

Norman Foster to launch UN sustainability declaration for architects
CategoriesSustainable News

Norman Foster to launch UN sustainability declaration for architects

By Zarkon Group,

The United Nations has written a set of “principles for sustainable and inclusive urban design and architecture” for architects to sign up to called the San Marino Declaration, which architect Norman Foster is set to launch.

Set to be ratified in the republic of San Marino next month, the declaration outlines a set of standards that architects and other built environment professionals should adhere to.

Declaration is Hippocratic oath for architects

“Next month I’m going going to be launching a United Nations declaration, which is the equivalent of the oath that physicians in ancient Greece undertook to uphold ethical standards,” Foster + Partners founder Foster told Dezeen, referencing the Hippocratic oath.

“In a way, it’s a condensation of the Sustainable Development Goals, which were also developed by the United Nations.”

Written by the Bureau of the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management, the San Marino Declaration will ask architects and other built environment professionals to agree to uphold a series of “principles for sustainable and inclusive urban design and architecture in support of sustainable, safe, healthy, socially inclusive, climate-neutral and circular homes, urban infrastructure and cities”.

Architects hold “key to a more sustainable future”

Signatories to the declaration would agree to design buildings and cities “in a way that limits the use of energy, uses only sustainable energy sources, reuses rainwater and limits the use of other natural resources”, as well as using recycled materials where possible.

The principles would also require architects to “respect the identity and cultural heritage of places and buildings”.

Originally focused on architects, Foster encouraged the writers to expand the reach to include all those involved in the built environment, who are described in the draft declaration as holding “the key to a more sustainable and inclusive urban future”.

“I’ve consciously encouraged the United Nations, who’ve grasped the idea that we should not just be inviting architects and engineers to sign up to this declaration,” said Foster.

“It should extend to city managers, politicians, developers, builders, everyone, everybody who’s involved, who is empowered to sign up to this declaration.”

Bloomberg European Headquarters to be shown as example for launch of UN sustainability declaration
Norman Foster (top) will present the Bloomberg HQ (above) at the launch of the declaration

At the launch, Foster will present several of his studio’s projects to demonstrate the ideals of the declaration. On an urban scale, these include its materplan for the city of Duisburg in Germany and Trafalgar Square in London.

He will also be showcasing the renovation of the Reichstag in Berlin “as a recycled building” and his firm’s Stirling Prize-winning Bloomberg HQ “as a new building”.

Foster has been criticised in the past for his stance on the sustainability of aviation projects. His studio, Foster + Partners, was one of the founding signaries of the Architects Declare manifesto alongside 16 other high-profile UK studios. However, it withdrew from the climate change action group, stating that aviation needs “the most sustainable buildings”.

The United Nations is increasingly focusing on the built environment as a key sector that is causing climate change, alongside more well-known culprits like transport and energy.

The UN’s 26th annual climate conference COP26 addressed carbon emissions from buildings for the first time last November during a dedicated half-day, while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) dedicated two entire chapters to buildings and cities in its most recent report.

While this makes architects and other built environment professionals crucial actors in the fight against climate change, the UK’s champion for COP26 told Dezeen last year that they are “one of the least well-represented businesses” in the UN’s net-zero push so far.

Below are the UN’s principles for sustainable and inclusive urban design and architecture:

People-centrality, social responsibility and inclusivity: urban planning, design and architecture need to foster and support social responsibility and integrate diversity and equality through due consideration of the needs of individuals and households across all races, age groups, gender, cultures, abilities and income levels, including intergenerational planning.

Cultural identity, values and heritage: urban planning, design and architecture should respect the identity and cultural heritage of places and buildings as well as the cultural values and traditions of communities.

Resource efficiency and circularity: every city, urban infrastructure and building should be designed in a way that limits the use of energy, uses only sustainable energy sources, reuses rainwater and limits the use of other natural resources and reduces resource losses.

In addition, every city, urban infrastructure and building should, to the extent possible, by design: use recycled materials; reuse and requalify spaces; reduce the production of waste reuse water; and encourage food production through urban agriculture, orchards and food forests.

Safety and health: every city, urban infrastructure and building should be based on internationally recognised quality standards as well as safety standards for workers and citizens, including fire safety.

Homes should provide a comfortable, safe and healthy living space, while cities and urban spaces should be designed with the imperatives of ensuring the safety and health of citizens; providing safe and sustainable mobility systems, including rail, road, inland waterways as well as walking and meeting spaces, green areas and urban forests that are accessible to all. Port cities need to ensure that port facilities are up to international transport and safety standards.

Respect for nature and natural systems and processes: every city, urban infrastructure and building should be designed in a way that limits its impact on the ecosystem of surrounding spaces, including by respecting plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and natural habitats.

This implies conducting ex-ante environmental impact assessments, allowing spaces for biodiversity and using natural materials as well as low impact production assembling and dismantling processes.

Climate neutrality: cities, urban infrastructure and buildings should be designed and requalified to minimize the associated climate footprint, by adopting creative solutions that reduce pollution and energy use; phase out unsustainable mobility systems; use modern, energy-efficient, climate-neutral systems; and integrate green energy generation systems in city designs and buildings.

People-smartness: technology and smart information and communications technology solutions should be used to improve liveability, including the most socially disadvantaged, bolster transparency and curb corruption.

Resilience, durability, functionality and foresight: city and architectural design should support solutions that make homes, buildings and urban spaces resilient to natural disasters, especially those caused by climate change, including hurricanes, droughts and wildfires, flooding and high winds; and making buildings and infrastructures durable and flexible, incorporating spatial adaptability to accommodate new conditions and usages over time.

Affordability and accessibility: cities and homes need to be affordable and accessible to all citizens. Designers need to keep this factor in mind and design high-quality environments for meeting the needs of all citizens.

Inter-disciplinary cooperation and networking: cities and urban spaces should be designed to foster cohabitation, community engagement, solidarity and social cohesion taking into account the needs of citizens across all races, age groups, gender, cultures, abilities and income levels;

Engagement: consultation with and participation of the local communities is essential for any urban project, including small, medium and large-scale projects. Continuous engagement with various stakeholders, including longitudinal research, will foster trust, ensure responsiveness to the needs of all citizens, and consolidate shared ownership of the city’s future.

The photography is by Nigel Young.

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