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Tower 2

Foster and Partners

Founded in London in 1967, Foster and Partners is an international studio for architecture, planning, and design led by Lord Norman Foster and his deputy chairmen, Spencer de Grey, David Nelson, and chief executive officer, Graham Phillips. Lord Foster's philosophy of integration can be seen in the way the practice's London design studio works: It is essentially one large open space, shared equally by everyone, and free of subdivisions to encourage good communication between the many people who work there.

The practice's work ranges in scale from Beijing's new airport - the largest terminal in the world - to its smallest commission, a range of door handles. The scope of its work includes master plans for cities, the design of buildings, interior and product design, graphics, and exhibitions. These can be found throughout the world, from Europe to the United States, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

The studio has established an international reputation with buildings such as Swiss Re's London headquarters, Millau Viaduct in France, the new German Parliament in the Reichstag in Berlin, the Great Court for the British Museum, HSBC headquarters in Hong Kong and London, Commerzbank headquarters in Frankfurt, the Metro Bilbao, the Carré d'Art Nîmes, and research centers for Stanford University in California. The firm also has a strong interest in city planning and the infrastructure of communication.

Foster and Partners is a worldwide practice, with project offices in more than 20 countries. The firm has received more than 400 awards and citations for design excellence and won more than 65 national and international design competitions.

Norman Foster
Founder and Chairman, Foster and Partners

Norman Foster was born in Manchester in 1935. After graduating from Manchester University School of Architecture and City Planning in 1961, he won a Henry Fellowship to Yale University, where he gained a master's degree in architecture.

Foster became the 21st Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate in 1999. He also has been awarded the Order of North Rhine Westphalia (1995), the German Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit (1999), and the Praemium Imperiale Award for Architecture (2002). He is also a Royal Designer for Industry, a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Gold Medallist of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Institute of Architects.

In 1990 he was granted a Knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours, and in 1999 he was honoured with a Life Peerage, becoming Lord Foster of Thames Bank. He was presented with the inaugural World Solar Prize 2005 by the Solar Agency Switzerland at the15th Swiss Solar Prize Conference in Lausanne. The award citation praised his use of sustainable strategies to radically reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. This is a shared ambition for every Foster project - regardless of scale or complexity.

Foster has lectured throughout the world and has taught architecture in the United Kingdom and the United States. He has served as vice president of the Architectural Association in London, councilmember of the Royal College of Art, a member of the Board of Education and visiting examiner for the Royal Institute of British Architects, and a founder trustee of the Architecture Foundation of London.