From Publishers Weekly
The fourth installment of a projected six-volume compendium of Norman Foster's works from the 1960s onward, this book covers the period 1991-2001. The book features Foster's National Gallery of Scottish Art in Glasgow, the World Port Centre in Rotterdam and the Commerzbank Headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, along with 29 other projects. There are 15 contributors (including Foster himself), with a nice text-to-illustration ratio (there are 1000 illustrations in b&w, 1000 in color), and a layout that resembles a thoughtful architecture textbook. Detail drawings and site plans will have architecture professionals excited; for others, a less specialized-and less complete-volume on Foster will better serve.
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Book Description
The most recent works of Norman Foster are the focus of the latest instalment of a monumental multi-volume retrospective that celebrates in unprecedented detail the architects remarkable career.
The recipient of the Praemium Imperiale and the Pritzker Prize in architecture, Norman Foster is considered one of the most innovative and environmentally sensitive architects at work today. In buildings such as the Great Court of the British Museum, the Reichstag in Berlin, and the Commerzbank in Frankfurt, the tallest building in Europe, he has designed dazzling structures that dramatically alter the environment in which they are placed by addressing our most basic needs for light, space, and communion with the world around us. The design and construction of these landmark buildings as well as a strikingly diverse range of other projects completed from 1990 to 2000 is the subject of this fourth volume in an authoritative six-volume series on Fosters career.
In addition to offering close examinations of individual projects, the book contextualizes Fosters work, identifying themes and connections across the decades, discussing influences and inspirations, and invoking a host of historical, cultural and architectural references. It also reveals the essential characteristics of Fosters distinctive design philosophy, showing how a commitment to social and environmental issues and engagement with new technologies remain the primary goals of his working practice.