2295. Hong Kong Bank. Interior.

 

Dear Elena,

"The Hong Kong Bank was truly a 

component building that was shipped

from America, Japan, and the U.K.,

and assembled on site. So in that

sense, it was totally prefabricated."

(Norman Foster)

Sincerely,

R

2156. Lusail Stadium, Qatar.

 

Dear Sahid,

"If the only constant is change then design 

is going to go on for as long as human beings

inhabit the planet. and beyond the planet."

(Norman Foster)

Cheers,

R

2121. Chek Lap Kok International Airport

 

Dear Victor,

"You can not separate the buildings out of from the

infrastructure of cities and the mobility of transit."

(Norman Foster)

Best regards,

R

2033. Metro Bilbao

 

Dear Txema,

"The ability to master physical communication 

– the ease with which people can move freely and 

in a civilized manner – is essential to the future of 

our cities; and the architecture of this kind of 

infrastructure is critical to urban development."

(Norman Foster)

Regards,

R

2003. Berlin, Reichstagskuppel

 

Querida Penélope,

"La cuestión en la vida no es saber mucho, 

sino olvidarse de poco" 

(La Odisea, Homero)

Paz,

R

2002. Berlin, Reichstagskuppel

 

Dear Regina,

"Architecture is an expression of values"

(Norman Foster)

R

2001. Berlin, Reichstag

 

Dear Sybi,

"It takes a lot of effort to make a building to look

effortless" (Norman Foster)

R

1925. Commerzbank Headquarters. Frankfurt am Main. Germany

 

Dear Sybi,

"With the Commerzbank Headquarters we combined 

an ambitious structural and aesthetic vision with a 

quest for natural ecological solutions and the 

well-being of the individual. For me, it is in this 

synthesis of these themes that the real achievement 

lies." (Norman Foster)

R

1533. The Gherkin Building, London, UK

Dear George,

"It takes a lot of effort to make a building look effortless"
(Norman Foster)

Respectfully,
R

1311. Willis, Faber, and Dumas Ltd.,Ipswich, Suffolk, England

Dear Wendy,

"Architecture is a connection with the past. However, 

our concern is not for relics but for the revitalization of historic buildings, repurposing them for a new generation. Architecture can communicate memory, but it can also communicate values and a sense of place." 

(Norman Foster)

Respectfully,
R

1237. Sainsbury Centre. University of East Anglia

Querido Alberto,

Sine luce Nulla!

Gracias por todo,
R

1221. Sainsbury Centre of Visual Arts

Dear Sam,

"The building is essentially factory produced, 

the work on site being virtually confined to the 

process of assembling pre-fabricated elements. 

This is the mainstream of previous projects and 

is rooted as much in a sense of appropriateness,
time available and the present day reality of quality control" (Norman Foster)

Regards,
R

1204. Glasgow, The Clyde Auditorium

Dear Sean,

"Architecture is an expression of values. The way we build is a reflection of the way we live" 

(Norman Foster)

Cheers,
R

710. London City Hall

 


Dear Norman,

Learning from Joseph Paxton and from Archigram,
like a sort of god Janus seeing into the past with one
face and into the future with the other.

Yours gratefully.
R

661. The Sage, Gateshead

Dear Elena

The spectacular Sage Gateshead's roof takes borrowed
the arched form of the adjacent Gateshead Millennium
Bridge by architect Wilkinson Eyre.

Best.
R

618. Nimes, La Mediatheque (Carre d'Art)

Dear Alison,

"It is a personal belief that quality is an attitude of mind
and quite independent of the actual material in question
-whether brick, concrete, wood, paper, steel, aluminum,
stone or precious metal. It is more a matter of respect
and loving care, whether on-site or on the factory floor"
(Norman Foster)

Best,
R

490. 30 St Mary Axe, London

Dear Mark,

The Swiss Re Building aka "The Gherkin" is London's
first environmentally sustainable skyscraper. The 

building consumes up to fifty percent less energy than 

a comparable high profile office tower. It was aerodynamically designed to reduce wind load on the structure. Since it was opened in 2004 the building has become an overnight icon of London.

Best regards.
R

424. Hong kong Bank

Dear William,

"Architects have a vital role as advocates
of sustainable solutions"
(Norman Foster)

R

249. Barcelona. Torre de Collcerola

Querido Manolo,

De esta estructura podriamos hablar
de la sinergia entre tension y
compresion de sus partes
(tu me dirias eso es tensegridad,
tu sabes no?). Sin embargo a mi me
apetece mas dejarme llevar por la
fantasia de pensar esto como un
gigantesco mosquito. Sus finisimas
patas son los 9 cables de acero que
la anclan a la montaña y su aguijon,
ya clavado en la tierra, el mastil
central; su diminuto cuerpo las
plantas colgadas a la mitad que van
hinchandose lentamente de la
sangre robada.

Un abrazo.
R

125. The New Hong Kong Bank Building

Dear Carme,

The current HSBC building was designed
by Norman Foster and engineers of Arup.
The main characteristic of this building is
its absence of internal supporting structure
and that natural sunlight is the major source
of lighting inside the building. It is one of
the most expensive buildings in the world,
costing nearly US $1 billion.

Regards.
R