Taschen publishes a monograph of Norman Foster’s career

May 15, 2023

With a career spanning across continents and over six decades, the work of architect Norman Foster is nothing short of extraordinary. His creative innovation and holistic approach have made him one of the world’s most influential and well-known architects. From the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, to the Reichstag in Berlin, the enclosed court of the British Museum in London to the Millau Viaduct in France, with his practice, he has created celebrated landmarks that stand out for their inventive modernity and for what he calls ‘a sustainable approach to the design of the built environment’.

This is the first time Foster’s complete body of work has been published in one edition on such a grand scale. Produced by Taschen in collaboration with The Norman Foster Foundation and Foster + Partners, it gives a rare insight into the inner workings of his creative practice. It details his personal approach to his work, his inspirations, the link between art and architecture, and the significance and correlation between his passions, such as being an avid aviator, and his work.

This XXL monograph encompasses a lifetime of achievement and originality in two volumes. The first presents his architectural oeuvre and is filled with numerous unpublished images and sketches handpicked by Foster from his archives. Paired with nearly 1000 illustrations, the second book contains eight essays he wrote explaining his sources of inspiration.

Aside from the 1999 Pritzker Prize, he has won the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for Architecture, the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, and the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture. This is a magnificent visual journey not only through significant buildings of our time but also into the mind of a genius. Norman Foster sketched every page of this book and spent countless hours with the author and the graphic designer to make it one of the most remarkable architecture books ever published.

The two volumes of this edition are collected in a custom-designed slipcase that folds into a book stand. It is an Art Edition of 300 copies, including a 1-meter-wide signed print of a drawing by Norman Foster, picturing the upcoming multifunctional community and business center InnHub in La Punt, Switzerland.

By Norman Foster and Philip Jodidio. Available here.