Lord Norman Foster – Master of Modernism

On June 1, 2025, British star architect Norman Foster celebrates his 90th birthday. The world of architecture bows to one of its greatest visionaries. Hardly anyone has had such a lasting impact on the cityscape of international cities as he has – from London's iconic office tower The Gherkin to the glass dome of the Reichstag in Berlin. Foster stands for architecture that combines aesthetics, functionality and ecological responsibility.  

30 St Mary Axe, often called The Gherkin, is a 180 m high skyscraper in the financial district of the City of London. © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners

Norman Foster was born in 1935 in humble circumstances in Manchester. His great talent for technology and design became apparent at an early age. Without parental support, he financed his architectural studies with part-time jobs and later completed a master's degree at Yale University. Together with Su Brumwell, Wendy Cheesman and Richard Rogers, he initially founded Studio Team 4 before setting up his own office, Foster + Partners, in 1967. Today, it is one of the most renowned in the world. His career reads like a screenplay: from school dropout to Lord Foster of Thames Bank, winner of the Pritzker Prize (1999) and curator of major exhibitions. Foster always remained true to his claim to see architecture as a connection between technology, the environment and people.

“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II” and Lord Foster of Thames Bank, © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners

Foster's architectural style is unmistakable: glass, steel, light and sustainability. He made a name for himself back in the 1970s with the headquarters of Willis Faber & Dumas. This was followed by one milestone after another: These include the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, the Millennium Tower in Japan, Apple Park in California, the Gherkin in London and the Millennium Bridge. Each of these buildings is a testament to his visionary thinking. In Germany, he caused a sensation above all with the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt am Main (1997), the world's first green building with an innovative double facade. He created another monument with the conversion of the Reichstag in Berlin: the glass dome became a symbol of the new German democracy.

Around 23 m high and 40 m wide – the Reichstag building was given a dome again when the government moved in 1999. © Nigel Young / Foster + Partners

Foster's creativity does not end at the building boundary. The Brit is also a product designer. His designs – from bathtubs for Hoesch to fine tableware for Stelton – stand for clarity and elegance. The Norman Foster exhibition, which was shown at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2023, was the most comprehensive retrospective of his work of the last six decades to date. But Foster thinks further: he supported the reconstruction of the war-ravaged city of Kharkiv in Ukraine pro bono with a master plan for sustainable architecture, energy, mobility and innovation. His foundation in Madrid promotes interdisciplinary thinking and research worldwide in order to prepare the next generation of architects for the future through holistic education.

Norman Foster Collection by Stelton, © Stelton A/S 2025 

Norman Foster has redefined architecture – technologically, ecologically and socially. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, the DETAIL editorial team honors not only his impressive life's work, but also his unbroken creative power. After all, Foster stands for the future of construction like no other. And that always begins with a vision.