Quotes by Norman Foster

About Norman Foster:

Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank is a British architect whose company, Foster + Partners, maintains an international design practice famous for high-tech architecture.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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.

Norman Foster

There's a snobbery at work in architecture. The subject is too often treated as a fine art, delicately wrapped in mumbo-jumbo. In reality, it's an all-embracing discipline taking in science, art, maths, engineering, climate, nature, politics, economi...

Norman Foster

Control is the wrong word. The practice is very much about sharing, and, in any creative practice, some individuals, whether partners or directors, are much closer to certain projects than I could ever be.

Norman Foster

I'm not a creature of habit. I like to find things from unexpected sources.

Norman Foster

I would never wear anything with a logo. That I really find difficult. It's a frustration that I'll find a nice shirt or something and it's got 50 prints of the logo on it - why do they do this?

Norman Foster

I was born in 1935, and as far back as I can remember, I was sketching designs. My first subject was an aircraft, which I imagined myself piloting.

Norman Foster

Google has already tested robot cars in San Francisco. If they can navigate San Francisco, they can probably manage just about anywhere.

Norman Foster

Manhattan, one of the most moneyed spots on the planet, also has one of the greatest concentrations of people in its skyscrapers. It's also, of course, the place where every architect wants to build his tower.

Norman Foster

I tend to move between turtlenecks and shirts and ties. I don't really have a uniform in the sense that some people might.

Norman Foster

You cannot separate the buildings out from the infrastructure of cites and the mobility of transit.

Norman Foster

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.

Norman Foster

A life-threatening illness or two certainly gives you an awareness of your own mortality. It heightens your sense of gratitude for things that previously, if you've not taken them for granted, you perhaps never appreciated how precious they were. Tha...

Norman Foster

The Italians have long known what makes a livable town or city.

Norman Foster

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.'

Norman Foster

There are those airports which make you feel better, and there are those airports that, when you go there, your heart sinks: you can't wait to get out of there. They both function as airports, but it's the things that you can't measure that make them...

Norman Foster

Everything inspires me; sometimes I think I see things others don’t.

Norman Foster

Since Stonehenge, architects have always been at the cutting edge of technology. And you can't separate technology from the humanistic and spiritual content of a building.

Norman Foster

I hope that any expansion of London will learn from the planning examples of some of its most desirable areas such as Chelsea, Notting Hill, Belgravia and Mayfair. All are characterised by high density and a generosity of green spaces. They are all p...

Norman Foster

I hope that any expansion of London will learn from the planning examples of some of its most desirable areas such as Chelsea, Notting Hill, Belgravia and Mayfair. All are characterised by high density and a generosity of green spaces.

Norman Foster

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.

Norman Foster

Author Bio

  • NameNorman Foster
  • DescriptionBritish architect
  • AliasesNorman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank; Norman Robert Foster; Lord Foster of Thames Bank
  • BornJune 1, 1935
  • CountryUnited Kingdom
  • ProfessionArchitect; Politician
  • WorksCommerzbank Tower; Gerling Ring Square
  • AwardsOrder Of Merit For Arts And Science; Order Of Merit Of North Rhine-Westphalia; European Union Prize For Contemporary Architecture; Pritzker Architecture Prize; Grand Cross Of The Order Of Merit Of The Federal Republic Of Germany With Star; Royal Gold Medal; Prince Philip Designers Prize; Princess Of Asturias Award - Art; Praemium Imperiale