Foster, Norman Robert

Norman Robert Foster was born June 1, 1935 in England, on the outskirts of Manchester, near Stockport - Reddishe domestic workers. He was the only child of Robert and Lillian Foster. His father worked as a painter at the wagon factory Metropolitan-Vickers. Norman's mother had a gypsy roots, worked at the factory. According to the recollections of the Foster, a native of the area where he grew up, "was as much chance of getting into university, how to become pope.

Norman studied at the well in the local school. He grew up a closed child, he was often insulted by peers. As a child, Norman enjoyed tinkering with machinery: locomotives and aircraft. For excellent performance parents gave him a book about the architecture Gibberda Frederick (Frederick Gibberd). With this book, Norman met with the works of the leading architects of the time: Frank Lloyd Wright (Frank Lloyd Wright) and Le Corbusier (Le Corbusier). The boy was interested in architecture and in search of new information, he began attending local library.

. Foster graduated from high school at age 16 and began working as a clerk in Manchester city treasury: there was a monotonous job, but Norman was very interested in the very city hall, built in the style of Victorian pseudo -
. In 17 years, Foster was drafted into the army and served as a radioman in the Royal Air Force. After the Army, Foster began working in the Manchester architectural firm John Beardshaw & Partners. There he studied drawing sketches but in the process of communication with the architects of this company, . mostly come from wealthy families and graduates of universities, . Foster understood, . that most of them are not even familiar with the works of Wright and decided to enroll in higher education.,

. In 1956, Foster joined the paid department of School of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Manchester (University of Manchester's School of Architecture and City Planning)
. To pay for their studies, Foster worked as ice-cream and even a bouncer at a nightclub. But thanks to advances in training and numerous prizes for his work Foster has received a scholarship that enabled him to travel and practice abroad. After graduation in 1961, Foster was able to continue their studies at the architectural department at Yale University (Yale University School of Architecture). There he received a Master of Architecture and also met his future business partner Richard Rogers (Richard Rogers). Foster's teachers at Yale was a British architect of the Chechen origin Chermaev Serge (Serge Chermayeff) and designer Vincent Scully (Vincent Scully).

. In 1962, Foster returned to the UK and with Rogers, as well as Georgie Chizman and her sister Wendy (Georgie and Wendy Cheesman) has created an architectural firm "Team 4"
. Company specialized in industrial design in high-tech style.

Team 4 lasted until 1967, then Foster, along with Wendy Chizman, which has become by the time his wife, founded the firm Foster Associates. Since 1968, Foster collaborated with a famous American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller (Richard Buckminster Fuller). Fuller was one of the main teachers' Foster: On his advice a beginner the architect for the design pay attention to environmental conservation. To create coatings Foster used the retina - a system of metal rods, . intersecting in two directions and forming a "membrane", . through which you can create curved surfaces and overlap spans the width of 30-40 meters with low cost materials,
. Meanwhile, experts pointed out that the retina were first patented in Russian, Soviet engineer Vladimir Shukhov. Foster and Fuller worked together until the death of Fuller in 1983. Foster's first significant project was built in 1975, the headquarters Wiilis Faber & Dumas in Ipswich: the walls of this building were made of black glass and the roof was covered with a green lawn. Even then, determined style Foster: he gave predochtenie light prefabricated and interiors, which are easily adapted to customer requirements.

In 1990, Foster Associates was renamed the Foster + Partners. The company has designed and reconstructed for office, industrial, residential and cultural infrastructures. Among their works reconstruction of the Reichstag in Berlin (1999), the main station in Dresden (2006), Wembley Stadium in London (2007). Foster was the designer of cable-stayed Millau Viaduct in France (2004) and London St Mary Ax (2004), which is often called the most environmentally friendly skyscraper. Meanwhile, many experts have criticized him for what he did not fit into the urban landscape, the building was nicknamed "cucumber". Foster was also the author of the draft airport terminals in Hong Kong (1998) and Beijing (2008), the latter is considered the largest in the world. Foster was the project developer, cleaner city of the future Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. Often, however, critics called it banal architectural solutions.

In January 2007 it became known that Foster is going to sell 85 percent shares of Foster + Partners, but wishes to remain CEO. The shares were sold to a group of senior partners. In mid-2008, the Foster + Partners has worked more than a thousand employees.

Foster was a developer of many architectural projects for the CIS. In the capital of Kazakhstan, . Astana, . monument was built with a viewing platform Baiterek (Poplar) - building height of 105 meters in a 300 ton ball of glass "Chameleon", . change color depending on time of day, . located on five hundred steel piles; anticipated, . that it has become a symbol of the capital and the country,
. In addition, Foster was the author of the draft of the Palace of Peace and Accord in Astana. In Russia, Foster is known as the author of projects of reconstruction of the hotel complex "Russia" and the Pushkin Museum. In addition, Foster was the author of the draft becoming complex "New Holland" in St. Petersburg in the cultural and entertainment facilities. Reconstruction of "New Holland" on Foster's project began in 2006, and in its course, according to some experts, was broken the historic buildings of the island. It was also the author of the draft 612-meter skyscraper "Russia Tower" in a business complex "Moscow-City" and the cultural and business complex "Crystal Island" in Nagatino floodplain. Both projects were met with harsh criticism and during their construction in autumn 2008 had difficulties because of the financial crisis. Difficulties in the implementation of the project also faced a 15-storey mixed-use complex "Orange"), a joint project of Foster's and Russia's "Inteko), . to be built on the site of the Central House of Artist in Moscow on the Crimean shaft.,

. Foster is the recipient of hundreds of prizes and awards
. In 1999 he was awarded the Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious in the field of architecture. Besides, . He twice received the Stirling Prize (in 1998 and 2004) was awarded the Royal Gold Medal and Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture (in 1983 and 1991, respectively) was awarded the Aga Khan Architectural Award in 2007,
. In addition, he is a member of the professional community of designers Chartered Society of Designers, the winner of the Silver Medal. Foster since 1991, is a member of the British Royal Academy of Arts.

. In 1990, Foster was elevated to Queen Elizabeth II knighted in 1997, was awarded the Order of Merit and in 1999 became a life peer, a member of the House of Lords
. Foster's title - Lord of the River Thames (Lord Foster of Thames Bank, Reddish). In the House of Lords Foster is not part of the ruling party nor the opposition.

Foster had been married three times. His first wife and business partner Wendy Chizman died of cancer in 1989. His second wife was Sabia Rumanov Malik (Sabiha Rumani Malik), the creative director of Foster + Partners, but their marriage ended in 1995. In 1996, Foster was married to journalist and scientist Elena Ochoa (Elena Ochoa). At Foster's four sons from his first marriage: Ti (Ti), Cal (Cal), Steve (Steve) and Jay (Jay) (wife of two adoptive parents). From the third marriage he had a son, Eduardo (Eduardo) and daughter Paula (Paola).

Foster works in London, lives in France and Switzerland, villas, designed by himself. Foster has a pilot's license, flying alone on a personal jet.