Norman Robert Foster often referred to as the ‘hero of high-tech’ is one of the most distinguished British architects. Foster is the founder and chairman of the British international company for architecture and integrated design, the ‘Foster + Partners’, well-known for its high-tech designs. The company’s project offices are spread around twenty nations with a wide array of works encompassing public infrastructures, civic buildings, urban master plans, offices, product designs and private residences. The company has cemented its position internationally with the body of work it successfully executed over the last four decades. Some of its notable commissions are ‘Willis Faber and Dumas Headquarters’ in Ipswich, UK; ‘HSBC Main Building’ in Hong Kong; ‘Joslyn Art Museum’ in Omaha, United States; ‘Faculty of Law’ in Cambridge; ‘Hong Kong International Airport’ in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong; Reichstag restoration in Berlin, Germany and ‘Millennium Bridge’ in London, UK. Foster remained a ‘Council Member’ of ‘Royal College of Art’ and also served as Vice-President in London’s ‘Architectural Association’. He received ‘Pritzker Architecture Prize’ in 1999, generally referred as ‘Nobel Prize’ in the field of architecture. He is also the recipient of the ‘Royal Gold Medal for Architecture’ (1983); the ‘Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture’ (1991); the ‘AIA Gold Medal’ (1994) and the ‘Prince of Asturias Award’ (2009) in Arts section. He was conferred Knighthood in 1990 and was bestowed a ‘Life Peerage’ in 1999, thus becoming ‘The Lord Foster of Thames Bank’.
