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Norman Foster Foundation and Holcim unveil Essential Homes prototype designs for Latin America

2024-06-14T13:24:00-04:00

The Norman Foster Foundation has unveiled details of its new Essential Homes prototype design with Holcim that will deliver low-cost options for emergency shelter in Latin America using low-carbon concrete and cement products in demonstration of the principles of a circular economy.

Image: courtesy Norman Foster Foundation

The prototypes, which are currently being displayed as part of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London, expand on a presentation made during last year's Venice Biennale and incorporate research performed by the Swiss materials manufacturer. The design has since morphed into a better scalable row house version that will be rolled out next year. The homes are said to be fully recyclable and showcase Holcim's proprietary ECOPact low-carbon concrete and ECOPlanet low carbon cement products.

Image: courtesy Norman Foster Foundation

Foster describes: "This project grew out of a workshop organized by the Norman Foster Foundation for young graduates devoted to the iss...

Norman Foster previews his Centre Pompidou retrospective for the New York Times

2023-05-11T11:47:00-04:00

I’ve responded to an invitation. Nobody could knock on the door of the Pompidou Center and say, “Hey, I had this idea.” This wasn’t my idea. I’m responding to an invitation, and I’m honored on behalf of so many people to accept it. I’m excited about the future. I think the future is more interesting than the past. I leave the past to other people.

The 1999 Pritzker Prize winner also delved into topics as far ranging as his yearslong dispute with environmental activists, representation of women in architecture, engagements in Saudi Arabia, NEOM, so-called "starchitects," and the world to come. The exhibition features some 130 major projects, covering areas like his love for cars, early collaboration with Buckminster Fuller, and more, all honed in on themes of "sustainability and anticipating the future."

Image courtesy Foster + Partners

Curator Frédéric Migayrou breaks down Foster’s six-decade output into seven thematic sections: Nature and Urbanity; Skin and Bones; Vertical City; History and Tradition; Planning and Places; Networks and Mobility; and Future.

The exhibition, titled Norman Foster, is open now and will remain on view until August 7th.

Norman Foster Foundation and Holcim to exhibit essential housing prototype at 2023 Venice Biennale

2023-05-02T11:52:00-04:00

Construction and materials group Holcim has announced a collaboration with the Norman Foster Foundation at the 2023 Venice Biennale to develop a model for essential housing. Titled the Essential Homes Research Project, the model is intended to “provide safety, comfort, and well-being for displaced communities.”

The project is to be unveiled at the Time Space Existence exhibition organized by the European Cultural Center during the biennale, which will include the display of a real-size prototype in the Marinaressa Gardens. The prototype will be supported by an exhibition hosted in the Palazzo Mora, reflecting on the Biennale’s overall theme “The Laboratory of the Future.”

“Natural and manmade disasters create a continuous exodus of people seeking instant shelter,” said Norman Foster in a statement. “Traditionally tents or variations on them are the primary r...

The Ukrainian architect who showed Norman Foster his Kharkiv

2023-04-10T14:05:00-04:00

Kharkiv’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, announced that Foster and his nonprofit, the Norman Foster Foundation, had agreed to work on such a plan in collaboration with the city. Max, who had never imagined he’d hear the words “Kharkiv” and “Foster” in the same sentence, was asked to join Foster’s working group. He was one of only two architects selected who were still physically in Kharkiv—the only people in a position to “show” Kharkiv to Foster.

The New Yorker contributing writer Masha Gessen tells the story of Maxim Rozenfeld, a Kharkiv-native, Ukrainian architect and historian with special expertise in the high-tech-style oeuvre of Norman Foster, who ended up briefing a Foster-led team when the city's mayor Ihor Terekhov announced an ambitious rebuilding plan for the heavily-damaged Kharkiv one year ago in April (new details emerged in December).

Norman Foster releases manifesto outlining his vision for Kharkiv, Ukraine as a 'city of the future'

2022-04-20T14:07:00-04:00

As the Russian invasion and occupation of Ukraine grind on, the leadership of one of the country’s most affected cities is already planning future rebuilding efforts after taking a special meeting with Norman Foster.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov met with the architect Monday to discuss his vision for rehabilitating a city that is now almost completely unrecognizable after two months of brutal shelling.

In the meeting, Terekhov laid out his vision for a reborn city defined by a new “high-tech architecture” and master-planned by Foster to “provide a framework for the creation of Kharkiv as a city of the future.”

The pair were joined by senior Ukrainian economic officials Igor Abramovych and by Olga Demyanenko, academics Ian Goldin of Oxford University and Harvard professor Ed Glaeser, and the Norman Foster Foundation’s Co-Heads of the Design, Architecture and Technology Unit Diego Lopez and Alberto Cendoya. Foster prepared a short manifesto for the meeting, which in part addresses th...

Norman Foster Foundation presents 'On Archives' masterclass series

2021-08-13T16:59:00-04:00

The Norman Foster Foundation has released a new series of 14 masterclasses, titled “On Archives,” a follow-up of the “On Cities” series released in the Spring.

This edition explores the fundamental aspects related to architectural archives and libraries around the world, with episodes featuring leading experts in the fields of archiving, architecture, art, design, and heritage management. The video series supports the Foundation's educational initiative that aims to promote cross-disciplinary and trans-geographic exchange.

Previously on Archinect: Norman Foster launches 'On Cities' masterclass series

“While archives have, for centuries, been the core of cultural, historic and artistic institutions, these online lessons also acknowledge the relevance of archives for the performance of other disciplines, such as architecture and design, and for the future of society,” reads the Foundation’s announcement.

"On Archives" Masterclass Series, extended trailer. Video: Norman Foster Founda...

Norman Foster launches 'On Cities' masterclass series

2021-04-22T14:25:00-04:00

Titled "On Cities," a new series of twenty masterclasses was released by the Norman Foster Foundation this week. Each half-hour video features a leading expert in the fields of architecture, urbanism, economics, and mobility, aiming to promote cross-disciplinary and trans-geographic exchange.

"While cities undoubtedly offer significant advantages in the realm of education, health care and social services, urbanization is widely regarded as one of the fundamental challenges for public health, social equity and environmental sustainability," states the Foundation's announcement.

'On Cities' Masterclass Series, extended trailer. Video via Norman Foster Foundation on YouTube.

"In many parts of the world, urbanization has made cities more spatially fragmented, less environmentally responsive and more socially divided. To meet these challenges, speakers will touch on key themes such as urban leadership, urban form and equity, urban informality, urban food systems, urban sustainability, ...

2018 RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship is now open

2018-02-08T14:02:00-05:00

The 2018 RIBA Norman Foster Traveling Scholarship, supported by the Norman Foster Foundation, is now open and accepting applications from enrolled architecture students globally. One winner will be awarded a £7,000 grant by a panel of judges, which will include Lord Foster and RIBA President Ben Derbyshire.

Now in its 11th year, the scholarship focuses on international research, in a location of the student’s choice, related to the survival of towns and cities. Previous winners have travelled through the Americas, Europe, Africa, South East Asia, the Middle, and Russia.

The list of institutions invited to nominate students is selected by the RIBA and approved by Foster + Partners. As in previous years, this list will include all institutions that offer qualifications validated by the RIBA or are recognized by the Commonwealth Association of Architects. For the first time this year, a large number of schools listed under other recognition systems are now also being invited to take pa...

The Norman Foster Foundation announces a program of education initiatives

2017-07-12T14:40:00-04:00

Based in Madrid and operating globally, The Norman Foster Foundation is a non-profit promoting holistic education and interdisciplinary thinking and research.

Followed from the Future is Now forum held in Madrid's Royal Theater on the 1st of June, Mayor of Madrid and Lord Foster brought together leading figures in the fields of science, design, architecture, politics, art, economics and history, to a capacity audience of 2,000 and 75,000 online viewers.

With the support of the Rolex Institute, the Foundation will host week-long events in its Madrid Headquarters in November 2017. Grants will be awarded to ten students from around the world for a series of talks, think tanks and workshops led by key individuals, including Norman Foster, on issues such as the city, infrastructure, mobility and technology.

The Norman Foster Foundation. Image courtesy of the NFF

In October 2017 the Foundation will feature an exhibit titled Common Futures in Madrid's Espacio Fundacion Telefonica. Create...

Norman Foster turns 82 and inaugurates his foundation's beautiful Madrid headquarters

2017-06-02T14:18:00-04:00

The British-born, Pritzker prize winning architect, Norman Foster, opens his archive and an international research centre on Thursday, 1 June, housed in a palatial building in Madrid. The new Spanish headquarters of the Norman Foster Foundation is a historic building that has been restored and expanded by the architect. He has designed a glass and steel “pavilion of inspiration” in the courtyard, leading to a basement filled with his archive, library plus photography and slide collection.

The opening of the new foundation HQ in Madrid coincided with Lord Foster's 82nd birthday this Thursday which he celebrated with the inaugural, one-day "The Future is Now" conference. The event featured illustrious speakers from the fields of design, architecture, and philanthropy, such as Olafur Eliasson, Jonathan Ive, Maya Lin, Michael Bloomberg, as well as fellow Pritzker-laureate, Alejandro Aravena.

All images via the Norman Foster Foundation website.

Watch the video below to learn more about the foundation's striking, new spaces.