Norman Foster turned 75 in June. The extraordinary range of buildings and structures designed by Foster and Partners can be a great resource for teaching.
Great Court at the British Museum © daddun, flickr.com
Foster’s work has been extremely wide-ranging: factories, offices, cultural institutions, airports, bridges – all of these different challenges and many others have been tackled in his prolific career. One quality that could be seen to unify many of these projects is the clarity of the fundamental ideas as they are expressed in the finished work. We see the ideas when we look at the building: they are not hidden away in a complex programme or abstract design philosophy. For example, at Stansted airport the concept of a single vast flexible space underneath a roof that defines the entire structure is immediately obvious. With pupils and students from KS2 upwards you could take a particular Foster project and discuss what seem to be the most important ideas informing the building’s design.
Foster’s work can also be thought of as an architecture of problem-solving, and so it’s no surprise to find such a strong overlap with engineering. Some of the most exciting work that Foster and Partners have designed includes structures such as bridges and telecommunications masts.
For an overview of Norman Foster’s career, read Jonathan Glancey’s interview in the Guardian.
One of the very best sites to use for images of the work of Foster and Partners is their own website. This is a great example of the superb resource that many architects’ own websites represent: great images presented with a minimum of clutter and within a highly logical framework.
The following teaching ideas are intended only as brief suggestions to be adapted according to the needs of different age-groups. They are divided into two sections, showing how the curriculum can be approached in two different ways. The first set take different curriculum subjects and then look at how Foster’s work might be used in these curriculum areas. The second set take different buildings and look at the subject-specific work they might inspire. The possibilities are endless and this is only a set of very brief initial ideas to be developed according to your own needs – or to inspire better ideas!
The Sage Gateshead sits along the River Tyne © wojtek gurak, flickr.com
By Subject:
Geography: Look at all the places around the world where Foster and Partners have worked. What patterns emerge? In each case, what was the connection between a particular building and a particular place – its needs, its history, its development?
English: Descriptive Writing: It can be difficult to explain why we like something without using generalisations. Choose a Foster project that you like and try to explain why, focusing your ideas so that they could not be applied to a different building.
Maths: Many of Foster’s projects invite the use of superlatives: the size of the Hong Kong airport, the cost of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank HQ, or the height of the amazing Millau viaduct. Tell the story of the firm’s career using as many different kinds of number as possible, in each case looking to make comparisons with the size, weight, cost and so on of other structures and objects to make the story as vivid as it can possibly be.
History: Look at Foster’s work with existing historic buildings, for example the Great Court in the British Museum in London or the New German Parliament in the Reichstag in Berlin. Use the Reichstag as another way to view the history of the twentieth century: the Second World War, its build-up and aftermath, and the history of the building’s rebirth – the story of the century in one building.
Science: What stops buildings and other structures from falling down? Use this simple question to provoke a study of chosen projects by Foster and Partners. Often there are very simple and distinctive ways that the structure holds itself up – and sometimes the special way it manages this tricky feat is the key to the entire design. Look at the ‘parasols’ and ‘trees’ at Stansted airport. Or look at the way the design of the elegant Commerzbank in Frankfurt allows it to dispense with a central core. In each case try to describe how the structure works as precisely as possible.
By Building:
Among the many projects that you could choose to focus on, some of the most important and distinctive include:
The Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters © fhke, flickr.com
The Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters in Hong Kong. A landmark in the design of office buildings and a genuine modern classic. Find out what made it so different to the normal office tower. Science/D+T: ask how a building works [set in italics]. Research the structure of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank tower and explain how it works. Build the simplest possible model of a part of the building’s structure.
St. Marys Axe, or the 'Gherkin', London © daddun, flickr.com
30 St Mary Axe in London. Unlike many modern buildings, this has become very popular in a short period of time. Find out why – if it isn’t obvious. What are the lessons for architecture in general, and is there a paradox if one of the reasons why the building is popular is that it stands out against less distinctive buildings? History: choose a city with an interesting and varied skyline and talk about the different buildings that together make up the complete scene. When were they all built? How are they different? Do any of them seem to respond to the buildings around them in deliberate ways – either in their location or their design? And so on…
You can read more about 30 St Mary Axe on Engaging Places.
Telecommunications Tower, Barcelona © bourkur.net, flickr.com
The Barcelona Telecommunications Tower. A very beautiful structure. What makes it both a good solution to a particular problem and an attractive form? What other solutions – and shapes – might have been possible? D+T/Art: take a very simple structural type that we see everywhere, such as an electricity pylon or a mobile phone mast. Think about the different designs that might be possible – making sure that you serve the structure’s purpose – and develop your own adventurous proposal for the next generation of your chosen structure.
Stansted airport © mira66, flickr.com
The airports: Stansted and Hong Kong. These are enormous buildings. Brainstorm all the challenges the design of an airport must present. With buildings – or complexes of buildings such as these – do you think a perfect design is possible? Geography: develop this brainstorm as a way to consider a host of topics within Geography including travel, tourism, planning, and the diverse needs of the many groups who use an airport or are affected by the use of an airport.
The Millau Viaduct, France © missusdoubleyou, flickr.com
The Millau Viaduct. This structure is so spectacular it’s difficult for photographs to capture the scale, although the images on the Foster site do a pretty good job. Imagine walking through the valley towards a bridge whose towers are as tall as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. English: Imaginative writing: How would you set about conveying the experience of a structure like the Millau viaduct so that your reader was vividly transported to that particular place? Or choose a different building or structure that you’re familiar with. One approach would be to tell a story that makes dramatic use of that place at a critical moment.
We’re keen to hear your suggestions on how else Lord Foster’s work could inspire lessons. Email us your ideas and we’ll add them to the article.
