Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank quotes

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, is a renowned British architect known for his innovative and high-tech designs. His projects include iconic landmarks such as the Gherkin in London and the Reichstag renovation in Berlin. He has been awarded numerous prizes and is regarded as a leading figure in contemporary architecture. Here are 22 of his quotes:

I hope that any expansion of London will learn from the planning examples of some of its most desirable areas such as Chelsea, Notting Hill, Belgravia and Mayfair. All are characterised by high density and a generosity of green spaces. They are all pedestrian-friendly with shops, entertainment, restaurants and pubs within easy walking distance.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

The most amazing lesson in aerodynamics I ever had was the day I climbed a thermal in a glider at the same time as an eagle. I witnessed, close up, effortlessness and lightness combined with strength, precision and determination.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

Part of the art of being an architect is to be a good listener. But I also believe in always providing strong leadership. Something that is designed by committee, in the end, tends to be compromised.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

I like to find things from unexpected sources. I tend to move between turtlenecks and shirts and ties. I don't really have a uniform in the sense that some people might.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

[Makes a good architect] an open mind, energy, an appetite for hard work, a willingness to explore new solutions and push boundaries. A sense of humor is also helpful.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

In Britain, the idea one could go from blue-collar beginnings to the university was so far out, it was quite unthinkable. I took a variety of jobs to pay for tuition - from ice-cream salesman to night-club bouncer. Whatever earned the most money in the least time.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

You cannot separate the buildings out from the infrastructure of cites and the mobility of transit.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

I think you never stop learning.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

Manhattan, one of the most moneyed spots on the planet, also has one of the greatest concentrations of people in its skyscrapers. It's also, of course, the place where every architect wants to build his tower.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

Control is the wrong word. The practice is very much about sharing, and, in any creative practice, some individuals, whether partners or directors, are much closer to certain projects than I could ever be.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

I was born in 1935, and as far back as I can remember, I was sketching designs. My first subject was an aircraft, which I imagined myself piloting.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

Google has already tested robot cars in San Francisco. If they can navigate San Francisco, they can probably manage just about anywhere.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

A life-threatening illness or two certainly gives you an awareness of your own mortality. It heightens your sense of gratitude for things that previously, if you've not taken them for granted, you perhaps never appreciated how precious they were. That's almost a platitude, but one has to state the obvious.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

I'm amazed to be here still and doing all this. But then I look at Oscar Niemeyer in Rio, who was a hero of mine when I was a student at Manchester. Oscar's still busy at work at 102, so there's hope. In any case, I just wouldn't know how to stop.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

[A man every day should do] probably self-assess. Do I do it religiously? Not consciously, but I like to think that in one form or another I do question, yes. I would be being pretentious and untruthful if I said that I devote a bit of time just for introspection and consciously do that, but in one form or another I suspect I do. And if I don't, I think it would be a good thing to do anyway.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

There's a snobbery at work in architecture. The subject is too often treated as a fine art, delicately wrapped in mumbo-jumbo. In reality, it's an all-embracing discipline taking in science, art, maths, engineering, climate, nature, politics, economics.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

I'm not a creature of habit. I like to find things from unexpected sources.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank

I tend to move between turtlenecks and shirts and ties. I don't really have a uniform in the sense that some people might.

Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank